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Mt 25:31-46 ‘Welcome me, welcome my people’ – sermon notes

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Text: Matthew 25:31-46

Died recently: Leslie Grantham: jailed for murder, sacked over a sex scandal, made homeless after divorce.  Concerning the murder, he said: ‘That’s between me and my Maker.’  Newspaper article concludes: ‘Now, finally, they can have their showdown.’  Just three things wrong with that: (a) it won’t be ‘now’, but at some future undisclosed date; (b) it won’t be a showdown; (c) it won’t just be Grantham, but all of us.

Outline

A glorious coming, v31 – The Son of Man – human, yet exalted; soon, he will hang on his cross pain and humiliation; but a day is coming when he will sit on this throne and judge the world in righteousness.…

Psalms: Prayer Book of the Bible

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Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible (Augsburg Fortress, 1970, Kindle Edition).

by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Do the Psalms, as Holy Scripture, primarily represent the thoughts, feelings, experiences and longings of those by whom, and for whom, they were originally composed?  Or do we draw a straight line from each psalm to our own experience, and appropriate each prayer as if ti were our own?

Neither, says Bonhoeffer.

In this short book, Bonhoeffer argues that the Psalms should be understood, first and foremost, as the Prayer Book of Jesus Christ. …

Praying the Psalms in Christ

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In his recent (2017) book Teaching Psalms – Volume One – from text to message – Christopher Ash develops a forthrightly Christocentric approach to reading, praying, and preaching from this part of Holy Scripture.

What follows is a summary, mainly in my own words.  I have made no attempt to offer any critical comment.

Why we must pray the Psalms

  1. We need to be taught to pray.  Prayer does not come naturally or easily, even to the believer. 
…

What Scripture says, God says

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What God says......Scripture says
Genesis 12:3Galatians 3:8
Exodus 9:16Romans 9:17
What Scripture says......God says
Genesis 2:24Matthew 19:4f
Psalm 2:1Acts 4:24f
Psalm 2:7Hebrews 1:5
Psalm 16:10Acts 13:35
Psalm 95:7Hebrews 1:5
Psalm 97:7Hebrews 1:6
Psalm 104:4Hebrews 3:7
Isaiah 55:3Acts 13:34

(Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics)…

MY truth versus THE truth

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Drew Wilmott writes about how people – believers and non-believers alike – often use spurious arguments to defend their own version of the ‘truth’ while disparaging others’.

1. I only read/watch/listen to what I already agree with.

My views are, therefore, never tested, I never give myself an opportunity to be corrected, or to enter into the thought-world of those with whom I disagree.  I see them (insofar as I see them at all) only through the lens of other people’s opinions. …

Gender confusion

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I don’t often expect to be in agreement with Robert M. Price.  But, looking for something else on his blog, I found this:-

‘I view the burgeoning gender confusion, as I consider it, a major symptom of the dissolution of Western culture and civilization. Various factors are fragmenting the “sacred canopy” of values and beliefs that historically hold any society together, providing a common identity. Definitions of marriage and family, together with wise child-rearing, are rapidly eroding.

…

Jesus in the Psalms

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According to David Murray (Jesus On Every Page, ch. 16),

1. We sing to Jesus with the Psalms

‘God’ in the Psalms is not just some general-purpose God: he is the God who reveals himself as Trinity.

Accordingly,

‘We use the Psalms of lament to confess our sins to Jesus.  We sing the psalms of praise to celebrate Jesus’ person and work.  We sing the psalms of remembrance to look back on Jesus’ acts throughout redemptive history. 

…

I can – in Christ

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We hear much these days about self-image, self-esteem and self-confidence.  Much of this talk promotes idolatry of the self: ‘believe in yourself’, proclaim the self-help gurus.

As Christians, we have a vastly richer, stronger, and enduring basis for our confidence, although it is one that goes largely unnoticed and untapped.

Our confidence is in Christ, and it is based on our union with him.

Gospel proclamation itself requires confidence: confidence that we have something to say and confidence to say it. …

Gender, language, and interpretation

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Women who interpret the Bible find three challenges regarding language and gender.

First, there is the problem of the generic use of words such as ‘man’, ‘mankind’, ‘he’, ‘him’, and so on.  It is argued that the continued use of such vocabulary, in contexts in which both men and women are in view, obscures the participation of women in the stories which the text relates.  Some modern translations of the Bible strive to minimise this problem by using expressions such as ‘brothers and sisters’, ‘person’, ‘human being’, ‘humankind’, where both men and women are being referred to, or where the gender is not specified.…

Discussion starters, Revelation 2-3

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I’m sure you won’t want to plough through all these questions! But I hope they stimulate you to think of the kinds of things it might be helpful for your group to discuss.

1. Looking at the passage as a whole

Each of the seven letters follows a rough pattern. Can you spot the six or so elements that recur in most of the letters?

Can you see any indications within the passage that these letters were intended to be read and taken to heart by all churches, and not just by those to whom they were originally addressed?…