Lent 2011 Sermon Series
Summary of talks:
11th March The need for the cross Sin Rom. 3: 21 – 25 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God! So says St Paul in Romans chapter 3. But do we believe this? The reason the church talks about sin is this: if we do not believe that there is a problem we do not need a solution! It is only when we grasp that we have sinned in God’s eyes that we can even begin to move towards celebrating Easter and Christ’s death and resurrection. People who have not sinned do not need forgiveness. So we start our series by reminding ourselves that we have all sinned. Not so that we can feel bad, but so that we can begin to grasp that we have a problem and that God has provided a solution.
18th March The foolishness of the cross Victory 1 Cor. 1: 18 – 25 In the eyes of the world nothing could seem more silly. The Son of God, who is God himself, comes down to earth and dies and on a cross! How daft is that? Yet, Paul says in Corinthians that although in the world’s eyes this is complete foolishness, it is in fact God’s way. It is the power of God at work for us. It is by Christ’s death and resurrection that we can receive forgiveness of our sins and entry into eternal life.
25th March Cross shaped life Change Gal. 5: 16 – 26 Our third step in our journey through Lent brings us to the challenge of the cross. If we have a problem, and God has provided the solution, then we need to decide how to respond. Our response must first be to accept the gift of forgiveness which God offers. But then we need to start to change our lives. Galatians talks about fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. We need to ensure that we change into Christ likeness and show these qualities in our lives, by the work of God’s Spirit in us.
1st April The way to the cross Gethsemane Matt. 26: 31 – 46
Have you ever seriously considered the implication of Jesus praying, “If it is possible, may this cup pass from me”? What is Jesus really asking here? It is most likely that he is making a reference to the cup of God’s wrath and judgement, an image that appears time and time again in the Old Testament. Jesus knows the path ahead of him involves extreme suffering as on the cross he will bear the fullness of God’s judgement and the sins of the whole world. He will drink the cup of God’s wrath once and for all, and extraordinarily, he asks in Gethsemane if this way really is necessary for the salvation of all people. The answer Jesus receives from God the Father is that there is no other way but him. Some people today ask if there are other paths to salvation, but we can conclude from this passage that if there were, Jesus would not have had to die.
8th April At the foot of the crossDeath Matt. 27: 45 – 54 Part of our progress towards celebrating Easter should include taking time to sit at the cross and to contemplate the sheer wonder and horror of what was taking place. Imagine yourself in the place of the scoffers (shouting – let Elijah come and save him) or in the place of the roman centurion (saying – surely he was the Son of God), or even of Mary seeing her own son die in such a cruel way. Pausing to do this can be a painful but profound and important experience. 15th April Beyond the cross Resurrection Matt. 28: 1 – 8
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