St. Luke's, Ramsgate, Going Deeper: Recent Episodes
Paul Worledge
Jesus now reaches the climax of this section of the sermon with the last two example of what he means by 'surpassing righteousness' (5:20). In this section are some of the most memorable and challenging teachings of Jesus, yet not only do they continue to bring out the true thrust of Old Testament teaching, but they fit well with both the flow of the sermon and the life of Jesus himself.
Jesus's teaching is about how we live out our Christian lives in our day to day activities. In these teaching about the surpassing righteousness Jesus calls us to, he touches on our sex-lives, marriages and the promises we make to each other.
Jesus calls us to repent. That means to change the direction of our life, to take on new values and new ambitions. But what are those to be?
In this passage we read about the necessity of aiming for a righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Jesus's day. What kind of surpassing righteousness is this?
Jesus has just explained how we can find true blessing in God. Now he talks about how we are called to bless the world. Even though the world may not always like us for it!
Jesus gives his answer to, "How can I find true and lasting happiness in life?" He does so in a way that is rooted in the law, wisdom and hope of the Old Testament, all things that are finding their fulfilment in him.
Daniel has been a faithful follower of God all his life. Now as he reaches the end of the life and realises that God's promise of a return to Jerusalem is nearing the appropriate time he prays an incredible prayer for God to act...
The Israelites are faced with an attack from the Amalekites. Moses's response is to commission Joshua to fight as he, Aaron and Hur go up to pray. Prayer is the secret weapon to winning the battle. But Moses also needs the help of others.
Science has achieved amazing things. But is our culture overconfident about what science can offer? What are its limits?
Do the Bible and science contradict each other? If you accept the conclusions of science do you have to dismiss the Bible or alternatively if you hold to the Bible as God's inerrant authoritative word, then do you have to dismiss the conclusions of modern day science?
The claim of this talk is that modern science is rooted in the outlook of Protestant Christianity.
Are you perfect? As Christians in one sense we find perfection, because we are in Christ and he is perfect. Yet, we are also a work in progress and Paul wants to encourage us to to strive to find a deeper perfection in Christ.
Why start the gospel with a genealogy? Why emphasise the number 14? Who are the people in the list? What does this teach us about God's plans and who Jesus is?
John the Baptist came calling people to change. But how does his message fit with the message of Jesus and his followers?
Who is Jesus talking about when he says, "When you have done this for the least of these brothers or sisters of mine?" And what do we learn about Jesus from this passage? And who are the sheep?
At the end of his letter to the church in Rome, Paul greets a large number of people. Who are these people and why is Paul greeting so many of them? What is he trying to achieve by this?
Do you love it when a plan comes together? Or have you got a cunning plan? In this passage Paul sets out his future plans to the church in Rome.
The plans met with mixed success, but we can learn a lot from the godly ambitions that Paul had, which were behind the plans.
Romans 15:1-13 is the conclusion to the main argument in Romans. In the conclusion Paul draws together some key themes and highlights their implications for the church in Rome and for us today.
Should we be concerned what others think?
In one sense as Christians we should not be concerned about the views of others. We fear God not man.
Yet, there are reasons why we need to be concerned what others think. Not for our sake, but there's.
Jesus is the Son of God, but in a sense so is Adam (Luke 3:38), so how does Jesus deal with the devil better than Adam and what can we learn about being like Jesus?
In Romans, Paul has explained the good news that God in his love sent Jesus to die for us even while we were still sinners, so that we could be freed from condemnation and receive eternal life.
Now we want to love as God loved us and in anticipation of the eternal life he offers. The result is we naturally follow the Law.
Where do we find true satisfaction? Is it running after success in our careers, the respect of our peers or a comfortable life?
Jesus says he is 'the bread of life' and he brings true satisfaction.
With more and more anger at the people in power over Brexit how are Christians meant to think about those in authority? Romans 13 shows us the way.
When someone does something terrible to you how should you respond? The natural response is to be angry, to seek revenge to try and lash out.
As Christian's though we are called to think differently. In this passage Paul shows us what that means when it comes to responding to evil.
Is 'zeal' a good thing or a bad thing?
Paul had been zealous before he is a Christian. He had persecuted Christians. Now, he was zealous, but in a completely different way. What kind of zeal does God want?
What difference does being a Christian make to your life as a student?
As we focus on Romans 12:1-2 we also look at the example of Daniel as a student in 6th century BC Babylon.
Do you have an attitude for the gospel or are you looking for more? The Christians in Colossae have welcomed the good news about Jesus and have been transformed through it, but they are in danger of looking for more.
Paul, however encourages them to see that the gospel gives them all they need.
In this passage we see a woman who seeks to support God's work through the ministry of Elisha and finds blessing in return.
When things go wrong she seeks God, desperate to find help for her dead son.
What is God like? As we see God's man, Elisha performing miracles for the great and the poor we learn a little more about the God he speaks for.
Jesus tells his disciples that it is better if he goes away. How can that be? Because then He can send the Holy Spirit on us. So, what has the Spirit come to do?
The Holy Spirit is God's amazing gift to Christians, but what blessings do we gain from the Holy Spirit?
Just before Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples ask him, 'Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'
The question is no doubt prompted by Jesus's teaching about the Kingdom of God. But when does the Kingdom come? Is it with Jesus's ascension, when he comes again or in between? And what has it to do with Israel?
Paul is dealing with the problem of many Jews rejecting the good news about Jesus. In this chapter, he turns to talk about how God is using that to help bring salvation to the Gentiles, but eventually also many more Jews to faith.
In this passage, Paul uses an awful lot of Old Testament quotations. But, what points is he trying to make with them?
As Jesus walks from the upper room where he had the Last Supper and washed his disciples feet to the Garden of Gethsemane where he would be arrested, he may well have passed the temple entrance decorated with a large golden vine that was meant to represent Israel.
Jesus says to his disciple: 'I am the true vine.'
Why aren't all Israel saved? That was Paul's great question. In this section Paul tackles the question from above by asking why God doesn't choose everyone from Israel to be followers of Christ.
The disciples are beginning to understand that something amazing has happened. Jesus has risen from the dead. But what does that mean? How exactly has he risen? Listen to hear more about this strange, unique and most important of historical events.
Jesus on the cross appears as helpless as you can be. Yet, as we consider the four words he speaks on the cross and the signs of what is going one we discover that the helpless one is offers us help beyond our expectations.