West View Baptist Church, Hartlepool

A family friendly church in the town of Hartlepool

Sermons

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Don’t be scared to reach out and help a Zombie

3 November 2019

We were joined by Mattie Steel who preached on 2 Thessalonians chapter 1

He shared his experience of being at Stockton sixth form college he took chemistry but he struggled about pulling together ingredients to make the final product. Other things in life are not as difficult. Fish and chips, visiting the lakes and good weather, Middlesbrough and a win makes a happy Matty.

The opening of the letter shows Paul in a good mood . Persecution is on the increase but this church in Thessaloniki is increasing.

Matty can see a similar spirit here at West View Baptist Church. But Paul’s letter shifts to those who don’t accept god. It gives Paul no joy to say this. Jesus will return and there will be a judgement. Paul shows that he knows God’s heart is that none should perish.

Our Godmay make you worthy of his calling. Paul expands on this in chapter 8 of Romans. God has chosen called or invited people to come into a relationship with him. He also provides the way for us to be made right with God.

What Paul is not saying is that there is some sort of level that people need to achieve.

In Christ you get a new identity. You are different and this is described right through the New Testament. Different audiences are called to this change, from say a little Corsa to a powerful Ferrari for Christ. Whenever there is a command you will receive the power and grace of the Holy Spirit to live up to the call as a child of god set free from the bondage of sin. You are free. Paul wrestled with this in Romans 10. We live a new life as the old self was crucified with him. Alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Paul prayed that God may make you worthy of his calling. Theologian Don Carson says we are to grow up into Christian maturity.

If there is any struggle you feel in bondage to, Jesus will set you free. Matt offered to pray for any one who needs this freeing from struggle.

Paul prays for fruit from this group of believers in Christ. He recognised the deeds coming from faith, but there is a need for prayer as well. We will only see new kingdom fruit with prayer behind it. Falling to the extremes of either of these camps makes it easy for the external world to dismiss us. Holy huddles, or Christians doing nice things is what we will be dismissed as.

Always offer to pray when out on the streets. Matty gave example of an addict they prayed for who felt sober for the first time in a number of years.

Take the risk and see what happens. Nothing that you can do that can put people off God’s love.

Matty related the story of the time that he was down in Brighton and there was a Zombie festival that weekend. He found himself alone in a railway station at midnight being prompted by God to go and speak to someone. That someone was dressed as a Zombie… at midnight! Matty offered help. Found out the man in the costume had been suicidal previously and following chats then and later he came to Christ and was baptised.
He also shared that our hospitality does not have to be perfect. He once offered a meal to two people down on their luck. He only had beans and bread in to offer. The two young people wanted to cook the meal and sadly they burnt the toast and were that keen on stirring the beans so they wouldn’t stick, they reduced them to mush. It didn’t matter. God still used burnt bread and bean purée to enable someone to be led to Jesus.

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Are we going to the Borderlands?

13 October 2019

Tim preached on Luke 17: 11-19

He asked to think about borders . Jesus was walking between the border of Samaria and Galilee. But it could be anywhere today Mexico USA, Scotland England, uk Europe. Only one of the lepers, the foreigner the stranger the outsider came back to thank Jesus. The act of healing was bigger than just healing the leprosy. Tim’s guess is the others went running to the priests to get clearance to go home to their families.

Welcoming the stranger is an important message. Would we welcome those from the other side of the wall. Jesus uses the woman at the well and the Good Samaritan to show a similar message.

No doubt the other nine headed to their family to share their good news. Luke implies that we need a whole new relationship with God.

What are we thankful for? We touched in this on our Alpha course this week. We’re quick to criticise but slow to give thanks . You can see this in Google reviews or TripAdviser. It’s easier to focus on the bad. We’re slow to recognise that the people involved are human like us. We’re slow to thank. Ephesians chapter 5 shows this. God is the source of everything, everything breathe we take (Tim resisted the urge to sing that song!)

WE need to find the things you can be thankful for our in the created world.

To get a good view requires a lot of effort sometimes. But even at sea level here in Hartlepool we can count our blessings. Use spiritual discipline to list what you are thankful for and list them before God. This seems to be a healthy thing to do.

Eucharist means thanksgiving. Let us cultivate a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. People who are thankful tend to be lovely people.

Cultivate this as we go back into our communities.

But there’s something else here, Jesus would not have met these men if he hadn’t ventured into our borderlands. Do we do this ? Or are we reluctant to embrace people who are different from us. How might we equip people for that task.

Perhaps going to the borderlands means joining a club, a group. We may often find that Jesus is already out there.

Living without judgement. The man who came back would have been a reject in the eyes of the community even without the leprosy. God really loves the stranger, the other , the people over different faith. Today’s media love to highlight difference. Tim showed the video One Day where Israelis of different backgrounds came together to sing together to share a positive message . People from all walks of life celebrating in three languages praying for a day where peace will arrive. It’s a brave thing to do. Jesus had an annoying habit of reaching out into communities that no one loved. Tim shared the experience of a fellow minister from Burnley who on the day of the riots there was challenged to get to meet people he did not know from other faiths in the aftermath of the riots. Living on these edges is where Jesus wants us. Refugees drug users people of other faiths. Where would Jesus be nowadays? Would he be sitting here with us.

Let us live with gratitude and thankfulness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvKDCP5-xE

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No labels, no walls… Who are we listening to?

Amanda led worship on 19 May with Tim and Jonny.

Tim brought the word from Acts 11 . It’s an incredible story of a tricky church meeting where they had to change the way they were thinking. Think how relevant this is when the news today is all about barriers and borders.

We all carry our own lists of those who are different to us. Yet we all know of borders that need to be thrown on the scrap heap of history. Peter got into trouble for exactly this . This is a huge challenge for Jewish culture. Sitting and eating with someone as a huge issue. Peter has already had his whole world view changed.

Luke is retelling the story as Peter is retelling the church. Cornelius had already discovered this. Even before Peter finished preaching the Holy Spirit had come down on people in the same way that had happened in the upper room. It seemed obvious to Peter that he should baptise the whole household but the folks in Jerusalem were not there and they were critical.

The sharing of the meal is critical. We’ve seen this with Filling Station, we sit with equal status and show our acceptance and partnership with people who are often very different to us. Peter smashes right through the barriers.

We’ve seen here in this church the positives of doing this, but the Jewish culture really frowned on eating with gentiles. Those in Jerusalem did not agree with Peter , they thought the gentiles should adapt to the Jewish way. They might have accepted them almost as a second tier a lesser tier of believers.

Remember last week and Simon the Tanner. God loves irony he loves challenging our preconceptions. Luke describes this in an orderly way and he reflects Peter’s own orderly approach to explaining the truth. God is in charge, God is pushing things forward. Salvation is sought here in Cornelius’ own words that Peter reflects on and learns from. Peter is reminded of Jesus words in Acts 1. Even gentiles like Cornelius are God’s beneficiaries, saved by Jesus sacrifice. How wide and how big is God’s love?

The Christian church had had to learn and change. Think about the issue of slavery. Racial equality is a relatively new factor and people like Martin Luther King jr paid a high price for where we are now. Women’s ministry is also recent. Think about the attitudes we are now being challenged. Look through the history of the church. Look in our rear view mirror! There’s still a lot of work to be done. Still slavery in our world. The Spirit’s goal is to push the church into a wider appreciation of God’s all encompassing love. God has no patience for barriers and walls. Do not reject what God has made clean. God made all things. It’s us that put labels on things , not God. In Acts 15 there’s a bigger meeting to accept the gentiles in the church. It’s taking us a while. The church should be working to develop a clear understanding of what God wants and he wants us to listen to unexpected sources! Who does God want us to listen to?

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Stinky Simon and Tabitha’s tailoring


Jonny led worship on 12 May supported by Amanda and Tim. Tim brought the Word from Acts 9 , 46-43.

This is the story of Tabitha also known as Dorcas. It’s an amazing little story. Luke who wrote Acts is the only Gentile writing in the New Testament. It starts with a group of fearful disciples and ends with Paul preaching the word with confidence and without fear. After Saul’s conversion this must have a massive effect.

At this time the Romans had imposed a statue of Caligula in the temple of Jerusalem so that was keeping the Jews busy. Peter is now preaching and healing, he is sent for by a group of grief stricken disciples .

Dorcas sewing clothes for others

800 years previously Jonah had fled to Joppa. Peter now finds himself answering a similar call. He does not make the same mistake as Jonah. Dorcas was a follower of Jesus. A disciple. Tim asked us what this meant . In her case she was always doing good and helping the poor.

Image the scene , she’d died and her house was full of people she’d helped, fellow disciples, dressed in clothes made by Dorcas! Her doing good for others.

It was not a hobby it was compassion in action. Showing the practical love of God, and it is this is the only place in the New Testament where the feminine version of the word disciple appears. “How do we know Jesus is alive?” asks Tim. Good is being done and people are being helped. Reviving Dorcas gives authority to Peter’s role and Jesus’ power.

The work begun in Jesus continues in the life of his disciples and so on through us.

Another detail right at the end shows Peter staying in Joppa with Simon the tanner.

It’s mentioned later in Acts. Simon would have been an outcast. As a tanner he would have been dirty and smelt. Look it up to see what the problems would have been with a tannery. Indeed because of the smell even houses being built in well to do areas in England in the early twentieth century had specific exemptions or covenants against people using premises as a tannery. Almost anyone would have felt superior to Simon. Simon the lowest of the low had found acceptance in the Jesus band. Isn’t this just what Jesus is about. Inclusivity and acceptance, inner transformation without worrying about outward appearance. Luke’s irony is that Peter stays in this place and has a vision about unclean animals.

Here in Joppa this Jew Peter is challenged about the boundaries we can all erect.

This is good news. This is compassion for all.John’s text in Revelations 7 9:17 is relevant here, we all struggle to embrace those different to us. Can it be said of us what was said of Tabitha, are we like Simon the Tanner with his simple gift of hospitality. It’s in our everyday lives that Christ moves. It is in the simple things that we learn to be disciples . Going church is not the key, living our life in the right way amongst ordinary people is. Compassion is shown and therefore human barriers melt away. We’re invited to join in with Tabitha Dorcas, Peter and Simon the tanner. Carelessness changed to compassion . Such transformation is only possible through the spirit of Christ.

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One day like this a year’d see me right

Ian Thompson led worship today with Mark, Amanda, Jonny and ian Taylor. It was the second of our joint services with Headland Baptist Church. It’s a pretty amazing experience when we all come together to worship. It was also a chance to sing happy birthday to Jonny as he celebrated his 18th through the week.

Tim brought us the Word today, He got a lot of the kids to take part in a painting activity transforming plain pieces of paper into different names for Jesus simply by painting over the paper with a wash of paint. Tim assured parents that the paint would wash off so let’s hope he’s right.

Tim pointed out that the music has a definite rock influence this morning. Nothing wrong with also wanting to join in with what the kids are doing next door in our quiet bits, particularly the Father Abraham song .

Tim read to us from Luke 9 verse 28 onwards, the story of the transfiguration.

He asked if anyone had been up Roseberry Topping. Anyone heard a voice from heaven whilst they are up there in the clouds, It does not happen very often. Jesus had just shared eight days before that his path would lead to death and the cross. So what had Peter and the other disciples being doing in the eight days, they were probably frightened and confused. Here they were now on the mountain top having this experience.

A lot of people are looking for that mountain top. But many of us don’t have this dramatic experience, Tim asked if any of us had been stood in a cloud on a mountain hearing the voice of God. No one out their hand up. Many of us live at the bottom of the mountain.

Tim let slip that he is a big Elbow fan and that this transfiguration sunday always reminds him of their song lyric,” One a day this like a year’d see me right!”  (For those who don’t know who Elbow are they are a Manchester band) Point of the story is that Luke is telling us who Jesus really is, letting the disciples have this glimpse before the road to Calvary. Why were they sleepy ? Is this more about them not being aware and then having something revealed to them. Maybe this shows Jesus as quiet in prayer. The disciples do the same at Gethsemane . There though, the humanity of Christ was revealed to them. On both occasions they are awoken to the true nature of Jesus.

In the moments of pain and darkness in our lives we might struggle to see the presence and truth of Jesus. Perplexed and frightened is the reaction of the disciples,

Jesus is seen here between the two pillars of the Jewish faith, Moses and Elijah, with them giving a glimpse of the resurrection story.

Peter was a practical guy and his strange desire or response was  to build some tents. He didn’t know what he was saying. He was maybe trying to preserve the moment. The Jewish expectation for the Messiah was a start of the new age at the festival of booths. Maybe this is why Peter feels he needs to build the tents or booths, Peter assumes the deal is done, that this is the end point. Suffering and death and a cross on a Hill was not on the agenda. Death and resurrection is something they cannot get their heads around . They had not remembered that Jesus has already said that he had not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it.

Jesus is the Christ he is the Messiah , the incarnate Son of God.

He chose to show up as one of us and follow the path to the Cross simply because he loved the people he had created.

It’s a simple story that is there to reassure people that the events described are to be trusted as a beacon of hope. We’re given a glimpse of who Jesus really is as we live our lives. Wherever we go he journeys with us , in darkness or on the mountain top. He’s the only one we need to listen to. Listen to Him, listen to Him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NFV8dHrZYM