A sermon by Owen Rogers based on Galatians 1

Today we start a new series. E100 took us through an overview of the whole Bible. Now we have a series that will look in depth at one book – the letter of Paul to the Galatians. To get us into this book I recommend you read Eugene Peterson’s introduction to Galatians in the Message Bible.

Paul was writing to correct false teaching. His detractors were accusing him of teaching falsely, being unqualified, preaching for material gain, preaching for popularity and not caring about the people in the churches he’d established. So Paul sent their accusations straight back at them and went on to re-establish his credentials and re-assert his authority. He shows he is fully qualified to teach the Truth of God since he received what he taught directly from God. It is unlikely that his opponents would have had the gall to make such a claim. In fact Jesus made the same claim: He taught what God his Father revealed to him.

Something of myself.
In similar vein, but not against anyone accusing me of wrongdoing, I have some testimony of my own. I am a Christian, a follower and disciple of Jesus. I rather identify with a guy named Ezra. Ezra was an Israelite prophet who served in the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the exile. He has his own book and in it we read, “Ezra devoted his life to studying the Law of the Lord, to practising it, and to teaching all its laws and regulations to the people of Israel.” (Ezra 7:10). I have made a commitment to do likewise – taking the wording from Matthew 28:18-20 – to study the scriptures, to put them into practice and to teach others to obey all that Christ has commanded us. To put it another way in line with our current group studies: to be a disciple and to make disciples; or to be a discple-making disciple. I don’t make a claim for direct revelation like Paul did, but I can say that God instructs me through the scriptures in the same way he instructs other Christians who seek to know His will.

In line with what Peterson says about God not coercing us from without but setting us free from within, I mostly focus in my preaching on that inner life. What we say and do are the product of our thoughts. Our thoughts are the products of our beliefs. Our beliefs control our actions. The most effective way to change our actions is to change our beliefs. Through observing our conduct we can discern what our beliefs are. That is why, rather than telling you what to do, I prefer to work with you so much more in the area of our thoughts, our beliefs, our perceptions, our values and our motivations.

Which brings us to vision. There has been some discussion this week around vision. I have been asked what is my vision for St. Margaret’s?

I see this church becoming central to the Belmont-Bayswater-Devonport community. We are not well known at present so we are working to raise our profile – our brand-awareness – so that when local people think, “I need help,” they turn to St. Margaret’s. When people think, “I need friends,” they find them here. When people think, “I wonder what God has to say about that,” they come to St. Margaret’s to find out. When people think, “I want to do something for other people,” they get involved with us in our ministries.

This is why we are working to increase the community’s awareness of this congregation. This is why we are finding ways of contacting more people. This is why I insist that this is a safe place for everyone who connects with us in any way. We do our best to ensure that St. Margaret’s is a place of healing and of spiritual growth.

This means being gracious to people – friendly and generous – taking a genuine interest in people, giving our time, sharing ourselves and our faith appropriately. What’s the belief here? The belief is that people are important. These are people Jesus loves. I keep going back to Philippians 2:3,4 In humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not (only) to your own interests but (also) to the interests of others. If Paul was writing that today he might say, “Get over yourself. Life isn’t about you.” It isn’t what others can do for you; it’s what you can do for others.

This is not a fearsome prospect – after all this must be a safe place for everyone, including you and me. We stay in control of how much time we give others and how much of ourselves we share, but if we set the limit too close to zero we miss the point, fail to connect and miss out ourselves. Jesus gives us a good example of how to do this. He was not always available to everyone: he knew when to minister to the crowds, when to look after just the disciples and when to care for himself.

So that’s my vision. Belmont Presbyterian Church, the centre of the local community. A life-giving place. A place of love and freedom, of healing and spiritual connection, growth and service. I’ve taken time to let it gell. I’ve listened, observed and prayed. We’ve worked to figure out the actual needs of the community and how we can begin to meet them. We expect more and more to see people connecting with one another and with God, becoming disciples of Christ and serving him in love. Are you up for this? It’s going to take all of us. Let’s do it.