Not kings and not three of them!

If we lift away the details added by legend and tradition, what remains and what can it say to us today?

As usual the sermon is available as a Podcast, no PDF notes this time but the text of it is pasted into this post.

The material is made available so that any may use it, preach it or adapt it.

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The Three Kings

Matthew Chapter 2 verses 1 to 12

First some background, then some thoughts on what this could mean for me today.

1) Background
Not three and not kings!

Not three. We do not know how many travelled but know that trains of animals and vast retinues were the norm when wealthy and important people travelled. In scripture three gifts are mentioned so we have the legend of three kings.

Not kings or rulers but “wise” men or “Magi”. Astrological matters at this time were believed by most people to be reliable indicators of future events. The Jews were more cautious about this. To Jews the Gentile forms of astrology were blasphemous. The Jews did not believe that the stars should be used to predict the future. They preferred trusting in God and the prophets. See Luke 1:67; 2:28 for evidence of the prophetic being current then.

The word “Magi” is plural for “magus”, from which we get the English word “magic” in the. The mysticism surrounding the Magi and their profession would possibly have been seen as magic by the people of the time; many of the races that inhabited what was then considered to be the civilized world, including the Jews, were very superstitious by nature. At this time there was no clear distinction between astronomy and astrology. This was a superstitious time.

Several places have been proposed for their point of origin. In 614 AD, when Persian armies invaded the Holy Land and destroying Christian churches they came to the Basilica in Bethlehem. They refused to destroy it because of a mosaic depicting the adoration of the Magi. It turns out they recognized because of their dress that they were fellow Persians.

The origins of the Magi are not clear, but they are believed to have had their beginnings with the teachings of Zoroaster, sometime around 1000 BC. Zoroaster was a religious leader and teacher in the region of Persia where Magi were thought to have their origins. Zoroaster taught monotheism (worship of the God Ahuramazda), and taught that at sometime in the future there would arise a king, a descendant of Abraham, who would raise the dead and transform the world into a kingdom of peace and security.

This was the religion of Darius the Great who was served by Daniel.

Darius the Great:

Darius I (Old Persian Dârayavauš): king of ancient Persia, reigned 522 to 486. When he died, the Persian empire had reached its largest extent. He was succeeded by his son Xerxes.

From the inscription on his tomb at Naqš-i Rustam:

“A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many. I am Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide…”

Magi were professional astrologers astronomers and interpreters of dreams. Magi were important members of royal courts. Persia was considered to be the centre of civilization so Persian Magi were held in high esteem.

At this time movements of constellations and stars, including the one known as the “Royal Star” was being interpreted as particularly significant by the Romans. If the Magi were seeing signs in the stars that a great king was rising, it would have been understandable if they, like the Romans, had assumed it was the emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus. The journey of the holy family to Bethlehem near Jerusalem, was to register their approval of Augustus’s elevation to supreme power over the Romans. This was the 750th priestly anniversary of the founding of Rome, and the year the people and Senate of Rome bestowed upon Augustus his supreme title of Pater Patriae (father of the nation). Events in the stars were interpreted as giving approval to his divine right to world sovereignty. There was partying in Rome.

Persian magi must have interpreted the stars differently. The Magi didn’t bother with Rome and its parties. They headed for Judea looking for the newborn “King of the Jews”.

What brought the Magi to Judea?

• The stars.
• The Zoroastrian expectation of a “Messiah” from the line of Abraham?
• The prophecies of one of their own - Daniel.

Daniel was a Jewish slave, who as a young boy, was captured by Babylonian soldiers and taken to Babylon, where he served the Babylonian and Persian kings. He became a Magi and was highly regarded by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, because of his ability to accurately interpret the king’s dreams and predict historical events based on these dreams. His reputation must have been known throughout the then western civilized world.

We are rightly amazed looking back at the accuracy of the prophesy made by Daniel when he predicted the coming of the Messiah. For those who were waiting it may not have seemed so exact. When Daniel prophesied (605 - 530 BC) he declared that Jerusalem would be rebuilt after the Babylonians destroyed it (in the 6th century BC) and that 490 years would pass from a command to rebuild Jerusalem until the messianic kingdom would appear in the region of Palestine. Daniel’s prophecy did not explain which command to rebuild Jerusalem was meant, nor whether his year-lengths were lunar or solar. Daniel did not indicate at what point in the life of the Messiah would be arrived at from the 490 year countdown.

Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived in the last part of the first century, mentioned a conviction among the Jews that this prophecy of Daniel would have its fulfilment within the first century. Josephus further stated that it was shown in the “sacred writings” that about that time one from their own country (Judea) would become governor of the habitable earth.

2) The Gifts
The magi made extraordinary prophecies in the their choice of gifts.

Gold for a king. See:
Revelation 1:4-6
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings- and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.

Revelation 19:16
On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

Frankincense for God
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Myrrh for death.
Mark 15:37-39
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, Surely this man was the Son of God!

3) What could all this mean for me today?

The Magi were not of the covenant community, not Jews. Outsiders can receive from God!

See incident of Cornelius Acts 10:1-3
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, Cornelius!

Acts 10:30-33
Cornelius answered: Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.

I must enlarge my expectations

Here is an assortment of photos of the old St Laurence’s church now replaced by the large Victorian version.

The internal scene is believed to be inside the old church, but we are not sure.

Never have I been so pleased to worship in a building so cold!

23/12/2007 was an important day for our church. It was the first occasion that York Elim worshipped in St Laurence’s church.

We were there to be part of a joint carol service, Elim and St Laurence’s CofE. There was no heating so the event had been publicised as a ‘wrap-up-warm carol service’.

The building has had much work done to it including being made watertight and the peeling walls have been treated and whitewashed. There is much still to be done. Heating needs to be installed, the lighting needs to be modernised and toilets and a kitchen need to be added.

Tim Jones (the Anglican minister) and I are keen that friendship will grow between what are now two separate congregations.

On Sunday it was great to see so many people from both congregations bringing life back into that old building as the two fellowships worshipped together and celebrated the birth of Jesus.

The future looks good.

Graham’s preaching this week is on a Christmas theme. He draws our attention to the effect the incredible events must have had upon the shepherds.

As usual the sermon is available as a Podcast, no PDF notes this time but the text of it is pasted into this post.

The material is made available so that any may use it, preach it or adapt it.

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Sermon Luke 2:1-20

It is:

1. True
2. Unique
3. An Unfinished Story

1) True
This account of Luke’s is a very early account, as Luke was a travelling companion of the Apostle Paul’s. Luke often uses the pronoun ‘we’ see Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1 to 28:16.

This is an early work of history. It is a history written after the event, not by an eyewitness like the other gospels, but it is the product of interviews with eye-witnesses.

If you want to know the Christmas story, rely on scriptures such at this. Trust these ancient documents. Do not rely for your information on nativity plays, crib displays or Christmas carols. Those things tend to be padded out with half understood information from the times when few people travelled and could not imagine cultural and national differences.

2) Unique
No other faiths can point to accounts of this nature concerning their founding, attested to by eye-witnesses, verified by archaeology and demonstrated by the transformed lives of millions of people during the last 2,000 years who have trusted in a risen, resurrected saviour.

3) An Unfinished Story
As I have pointed out in my previous sermons on ‘Incarnation’ the work of Jesus in this world was not completed, according to Luke in Acts chapter 1, verse 1.

Questions:
Reading what happened with the shepherds, what difference do you think this would have made to the lives of the shepherds? What difference do you think it would have make to the rest of their lives?

What do you think we should expect in our lives as a result of encountering Jesus? What scriptures come to mind as you try to answer this?

I will start the list with John 3:8, John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:22-23.

Add your own to the list. But don’t stop there, pray for the outworking of these things in your life.

3:00 pm on Sunday afternoon 23rd Dec 2007 at St Laurence’s Church, Lawrence Street, York, YO10 3BN.

For those wanting to join the carol service we are having with our CofE friends at St Laurence’s but don’t know where to go, here are the details.

It will be in the old church. Go to our meetings & contact page to see a photo of the hall where we have our office. Go up the drive by the side of the hall and you will see the big old church ahead.

See our locations map for more help finding it.

Graham’s preaching last week was not completed. This week Graham concludes his sermon on the Christian in the workplace.

As usual the sermon is available as a Podcast, downloadable PDF notes and the text of it is pasted into this post.

The material is made available so that any may use it, preach it or adapt it.

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To download PDF of notes - DOWNLOAD

Sermon Galatians 4:4-7

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Incarnation and the Believer’s Workplace

Last week:

1) Christmas is a celebration of the incarnation
Incarnation = the doctrine that the second person of the Trinity assumed human form in the person of Jesus Christ and is completely both God and man.

Gal 4:4-7 is about the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. Other scriptures point to the incarnation in us. to the world.

See:
Acts 1:1,2
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

1 Cor 12:12
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

1 Cor 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:12
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

2) How to “declare the praises of him”

We looked at:
(a) Carrying the Word
We noted that the seed, the gospel, has life in itself.

(b) Working Well
We saw that labour is good but we should not overwork, that service for Jesus energises, that labour can be worship. Involving our faith in our labours, our employment, we defy that dynamic in us which always looks for the short-cut.

This week:

Intro:
A Christian (not of this congregation) was telling me of a work colleague, disliked by all, rude, petty, manipulative, malevolent. The believer went on to tell me how it felt when this person said, “So you are a Christian too?” Thankfully that person was not of this congregation either!

(c) Prayer

How to pray in the workplace:
Invite the rule of God there. You can use the ancient prayer (Matt 6:9) and the phrase, “Thy kingdom come”

How to pray for colleagues:

• Sometimes a promise of prayer later, or regularly.
• Sometimes then and there, in the workplace, whether unnoticed to others or accompanied by touch.

(d) Failing well
See 1 Thessalonians 1:2-7

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

I don’t think Paul was claiming he never failed or made mistakes when he encouraging the believers to imitate him. I think he was also telling them to see how he got recovered after a set-back.

(e) Being different

Speaking:
Be ready to speak about what matters most to you. “In polite society one should never speak of politics or religion.” No! Wrong!

The office party: You do not need to get drunk at the office party, or snog every willing person. Show that there is another way. You could offer to be the sober watcher/protector and driver. Don’t show disgust, show love.

Work humour: The “blue” jokes, emails, etc.
We will naturally laugh at funny things, it is the way we are wired. We can find something funny without having to repeat it to others. When accused that a Christian should not laugh at disgusting things, we can give a reply for our faith. Be unembarrassed at finding something funny.

Obscene posters, email images:
The reason for turning away or not gazing upon an image may depend on whether you are male or female.

The male Christian can admit that certain images appeal to the male nature but that the Christian man has decided not to gaze. The male may need to tell his colleagues of the scripture “I have made a covenant with my eyes..”

Job 31:1 I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.

Proverbs 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

And for married men, Proverbs 5:18-19 (NKJV)
Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.
As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.

Matters of our spirit:

• Forgiveness or going in a Huff
• Lying - bad for mission, and bad for our souls.
• Blaming a colleague (or arranging it so they get the blame)
• Being blamed. When you get the undeserved blame remember Abram and Lot in Genesis Chapter 13.
• Back-stabbing and gossip. See:Proverbs 16:28 A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.Proverbs 26:20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.2 Corinthians 12:20-21 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.

This email was sent to the church office this morning from Elim International Missions:

NIGERIA

This is a special request for prayer for Elim in Nigeria.

We have just been told that the Elim church in Bauchi, the first Elim church and the largest, has been burnt down by Muslims with everything inside. Thankfully all the church members are safe and also the schools (nursery, primary and secondary) which are a quarter of a mile away from the church. We understand that when trying to stabilise the situation, the police shot and killed the Muslim leader of the riot.

Matthew Ayodele, the President of Elim Nigeria, has moved from the area for safety as have many of the church members.

Please pray that God will surround our Elim leaders in Nigeria, the Bauchi church congregation and the schools with His protection. Pray that this terrible incident will not lead to further uprising. Pray that Matthew and the other leaders will have guidance and wisdom in everything they do.

We really appreciate your continued prayer support, thank you.

Please feel free to copy and distribute Prayerline.

If you do not wish to receive this mailing any longer,

please contact Kathy on kcooper@elimhq.net

Jack, a member of the congregation, read this news article out in a prayer meeting recently.

“A woman who claims she was healed by prayer had to battle the benefits system to stop her disability payments. Officials said the computer did not “have a button for miracles”. June Clarke, 56, from Plymouth, Devon, slipped on a wet canteen floor at work in January 2000 and badly damaged her hip, pelvis and lower spine.” Read the whole article on the BBC website Computer Says No to a Miracle 

I chose to do my four day silence from 10am Thursday to 1.30pm Sunday 31st
November to raise funds for the Big Dress festival in Sheffield…

I didn’t SPEAK on behalf of others who have no voice - namely:

• The many who are trapped in horrendous working conditions making clothes

and other produce for the Western world

• The children forced into work instead of having the education

they ought to receive

• The multitude of victims of injustice as a direct

consequence of the lack of accountability of multi-national companies in

• our world today

“The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields arecrying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the
ears of the Lord Almighty” James 5:4

The Big Dress Campaign is seeking to make a difference in this area, by
hosting a 5 day festival in Sheffield in May 2008, highlighting these
issues, lobbying UK Government and exploring the relationship between the
creative arts, Christianity and social justice. Please support me however
you can by sponsoring me to raise essential funds that will make the next
leg of the Big Dress Tour possible in Sheffield.

http://www.speak.org.uk/thebigdress

Silence is great when it’s chosen, but hellish when it is forced.

This morning we presented two of the three baptised last Sunday with their certificates.

Samir (pictured on the right) who was baptised during an Easter open air service in the city centre was also presented with a certificate.

Samir’s certificate also bears the signature of the Archbishop of York as he had agreed to baptise candidates from all the churches which took part in the event with their own leaders. This was to be the first time in known history that the primate of England was to conduct baptisms with leaders of other churches.