William Shakespeare, in his play “The Merchant of Venice” wrote:

All that glisters is not gold

What do we think of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6?

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

Do you allow the idea of “heavenly treasure” to impact you on a daily basis? Does the command of Jesus motivate you to work for the good of others?

If you’re like me you’ve probably answered “no” to both of those questions but I think these are good questions to consider particularly given the fact that at this time in the year we are probably more aware of earthly treasures than heavenly ones. Certainly, our Western materialistic culture encourages us to get all that we can get now because after this life there isn’t anything else.

And for a moment … when we unwrap and peel aware the paper to reveal the treasure, we’re satisfied. If just for a moment, our hearts are filled. But … let’s think about it from a biblical perspective:

• gifts are good
• treasures are good
• being satisfied in treasure is good

So what’s the problem? the problem, Jesus says, is not the fact that we are longing for treasures to satisfy us but the treasure itself leads us to be satisfied in something else. This is why Jesus says “don’t treasure what is on earth” because our hearts will become earthy! We will love and adore things on earth more than things in heaven. Our world and all that is in it will be a god to us. Without Christ this is our best hope – seek little gods to satisfy and fill you. Treasure – oh yeah, that’s a biggie. All that glitters isn’t gold – all that glitters is god. It’s a poor shadow of the real treasure that will fill us completely and forever.

This is why Paul exhorts us to “set our minds on things above”. Love cherish long for this treasure.

Join us for a casual, relaxed evening aimed at spending time together as men, but also inviting our non-Christian friends to join us as we listen to a talk from God’s Word. We’ll eat a burger then study the Bible.

BOOKING IS REQUIRED: Tickets are £3 and you can book your place (and your free friend’s place) by clicking here:

https://calvarysoton.churchsuite.co.uk/events/0hrx1fwh

In the New Year we will be launching into a new series in the book of Proverbs and in this post I want to highlight some really good reasons why Proverbs is not only a great book to study but it’s also a timing book to study.

Wisdom is something we all lack. Just a quick internet search on the “wisdom” demonstrates that there are rather mixed messages when it comes to what wisdom actually is, and how to get it. Professor of New Testament at the Wheaton College, Douglas Moo, suggest that the best definition of “wisdom” is a God-given grace that “involves biblical insight into God’s purposes and ways.” I like that! We all want to have biblical insight into God’s purpose and ways don’t we? Well, Proverbs provides the basis for this. So what do we do with wisdome?

Pursue it

Proverbs was written for Solomon’s sons so that they might read and understand how to walk with God. Throughout the book, we hear beautiful father-son language with which Solomon appeals to his children. So used rightly, wisdom provides the basis for righteous living. This means that as a church we need to learn how to speak to one another “the wisdom of God” in a father-son way. We need to learn to gracious and lovingly speak to one another about pursuing holiness and fighting sin and temptation.

The Book of Proverbs does this in a number of different ways but they mainly fall into one of three categories:

1. It reminds us that God speaks to us
   • It reminds us that instruction from God’s Word is the foundation from which we speak to one another about pursuing holiness and fighting sin and temptation. It’s not our cultural perspective or church experience – it’s the Word of God. Of course, the source of this instruction is God Himself but the means of this instruction is the people God has put in our lives who love us.
2. It reminds us that blessings come from obeying God
   • The general tone of this book, when talking about righteous living, is very much instruction, encouragement and affirmation. This is what we need to learn to model to one another. Proverbs helps us to see the value of pointing out the joy of obedience because walking in wisdom brings great blessings.
3. It reminds us that futility come from disobeying God
   1. Set it juxtaposition against the blessings, Solomon also points out the consequences of foolishness. Just a brief read of the text often demonstrates this as Solomon regularly distinguishes the way of wisdom from the way of foolishness – the way of obedience and the way of disobedience – the way of the blessed and the way of the cursed. In short, says Solomon, there are consequences to sin, and with tear-filled eyes, as a loving father, he does everything to warn his children of those consequences.

Rely on God for it

Since King Solomon wrote the book for his children, who were to inherit the throne, one of the greatest dangers that they faced was the temptation to rely on Israel’s enormous wealth and power to accomplish these things. But, to live in such wisdom, Solomon says, we must rely on God. This is crucial for us because there is a danger that in our pursuit of righteous living, we not only become the authority for it, but we also become the power for it. This is what led God to warn Zerubbabel that it’s “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” and we need to be constantly reminded that our only hope for waking in wisdom is found in Christ. It’s impossible in our own strength and if we don’t understand this, the best that we will get out of our study will be a collection of meme and “truisms” that will help us get along better in this life. The worse thing is that we slip into man-made self-righteousness.

In other words, Solomon isn’t teaching his sons how to have their best life now. He’s preparing them to be the primary covenant keepers in Isreal.

The gospel in Proverbs?

Is the gospel in proverbs? Well, think about some of this:

• the very fact that we have the book of Proverbs to read should remind us that, left to ourselves, we would never choose the path of wisdom. We need intervention from outside of ourselves.
• This intervention comes in the form of a King who not only sits on a throne (Psalm 2) but has already walked the path of wisdom in our place. A King who is described as the “wisdom of God”.
• The blessings in proverbs are ours by inheritance as God’s sons.
• Through faith in King Jesus, all the covenant promises will be ours for all eternity.
• Through King Jesus, we’re equipped to walk the way of wisdom.

Armistice Day. The day we remember the end of the First World War. An occasion to remember 8.5 million soldiers who died across the World during the four years the world was at war. A time to pay respect to those that have fallen in all the conflicts that have followed. A day to honour those who continue to stand in the gap.

In fact, Armistice Day only commemorates the signing of a cease-fire. That was a day when sparked wild celebrations across Europe. BBC History Magazine describes the day as a “wonderful carnival rather than a mournful seriousness that” the day has become. The permanent peace treaty wouldn’t be signed for another 7 months. The terms of the treaty, known as the Treaty of Versaille, were so harsh that it left our Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, to predict that another war would need to be fought in 25 years’ time. Many regarded it to be a key factor in the rise of German Nationalism that gave way to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party. Lloyd George’s ominous words came true when, in 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. In a symbolic action, the same train carriage in which the November 1918 armistice was signed was later used by Hitler when he accepted France’s surrender to the German forces in 1940.

How we commemorate Armistice Day should be balanced with what we believe about God and the Gospel. John Drake wrote a great article for the Bible Society in which he explores God’s way of remembering. At one point he states:

remembrance … as a way of inspiring people to new possibilities grounded in God’s grace

Remembrance is a call to look back and hope in Christ for a better future. Click the link below to read John’s article.

Remembrance: A Biblical Perspective

We’re now coming to the end of our Sunday morning sermon series through the book of Acts. I’ve been asked this question:

How do we know that our worship service is the same as what happened in Acts?

Well, there is nothing in the NT that suggests the style of church service in the book of Acts. It’s certainly recorded that they sang songs, had preaching, took communion together, ate together and had prayer meetings. However, in terms of style, the NT is silent. Far from being a confusing thing, this actually gives us great freedom to have a style that we feel is most helpful.

There are a number of Early church sources that are interesting …. a guy called Justin Martyr (b.100 AD, d.165 AD) wrote a couple of “apologies” for the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. These “apologies” are defences of the Christian faith and they give us great insight to how the early church structure its church services. Here’s a snippet:

“And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

“Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. This word Amen answers in the Hebrew language to genoito [so be it]. And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion.

“And this food is called among us Eukaristia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, “This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;” and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, “This is My blood;” and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.”

Here’s a summary of how the early church structured its meetings:

• four primary ingredients of the early worship services were:
• • reading the Bible
• • teaching the Bible
• • prayer
• • communion (the Lord’s Table)
• No singing (although other church fathers do report of singing in their meetings). However, singing was not a central part of the church Sunday service (at least not to the extent it is today) – as someone who loves to sing this does make me slightly sad!
• Noticeably central was the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and seemingly a really important part of the service.
• The stood throughout the whole service – other records also tell us that they did this. Standing was also considered the proper posture for prayer – which I love to do BTW – we are expecting the presence of a guest (the Holy Spirit) and so, like we would stand to greet someone at home, we stand in anticipation of His arrival.
• The posture of prayer is also significant in the early church – eyes towards heaven and arms outstretched.