Christ Church Selly Park

Making good work

Ben Green | Colossians 3:22-4:1 

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Work of some sort, whether paid or unpaid, is a fact of life for just about all of us. Since we live in a broken world, how can we restore the true God-given nature of work? Ben addresses this question in this short talk. During the service there was additional teaching in a video, produced by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, which we can't include here for copyright reasons. A summary is included below.

The recording begins with the reading from Simon Jones.

An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

Teaching video summary:

Mark Greene, who devised the series we are following, asked why the things we do from day to day matter to God?

Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as for the Lord... it is the Lord Christ you are serving“.

Our everyday actions (all of them!) matter because we are doing them for God. If we do something for someone we love, we do it enthusiastically, carefully, as well as we can. If it‘s for God, we also do it worshipfully, for his glory.

Keith is a decorator who, when he first started out, just did it as a job to earn money. A car crash made him rethink his priorities and he decided to earn so that he could give a lot away to the church and other charities.

Only later did Keith realise that his work enabled others to live the lives they were meant to lead. He helped people who could not maintain their own properties. He served God by serving people and improving their lives.

Work is a gift by which we can serve God. Everything can be done in a way which benefits others: stacking goods on shelves so that the labels face outwards, emptying bins in a way that leaves the place tidy, designing computers so that they are easy and pleasant to use.

In the Genesis account of creation, humans are created only when there is a garden for them to look after. A loving God created the context for human flourishing through purposeful work.

The Fall meant that work would become a lot harder, with frustrations and disappointment, but its original purpose survives. Christ died to begin the restoration of whole universe. We participate in this through our daily activities.

You don't have to be a Christian to do a beautiful job. But we seek to consciously do whatever we do for Jesus. Let‘s pray that he will use our work to bless others.

Psalm 90:17 - may God establish the work of our hands.

Modelling godly character

Peter Frere | Galatians 5:13-26 

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

These are qualities that we all want, but how do we make them grow? How can we be free of the desires that get in the way and lead us to behave in contrary ways? As Peter explains, these are fruit of the Holy Spirit, that only his working in us can produce - but we have an essential part to play in the process.

The recording begins with a report from Alison Cooper and Phil Banting on their visit to Bolivia as part of a team from Birmingham in August 2023. Then we hear from Bobbie and Peter Frere as they look ahead to renewing our links with Kenya in the following few weeks. This is followed by the reading from Dilys Garrod.

An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

Fruitfulness in the Bible

Ben Green | Mark 4:26-29 

[Jesus] also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn – first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. As soon as the corn is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’

The recording begins with Susan Haynes introducing the Explore service and explaining more about our current series, "Faithfulness on the frontline." The congregation were then asked, in groups around tables, to read one of a set of Bible passages and answer a question on it. After hearing the feedback from each of the groups Ben gave a short talk describing how we become more fruitful. How much of a part does God play and what is our responsibility?

The readings studied the congregation, and the corresponding questions, were:

Genesis 1:24-31

Where does fruitfulness originate/begin?

Colossians 1:1-14

What four things does Paul specify will come from being filled with the Spirit?

Luke 3:7-14

What should repentance lead to?

Isaiah 5:1-7

Why was the vineyard to be destroyed?

Isaiah 27:1-6

What is the promise of this passage?

John 15:1-17

What do we need to do in order to bear much fruit?

Galatians 5:13-26

What three action words associated with the Spirit does Paul say will result in fruit?

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

What are some of the elements needed to produce a fruitful harvest?

Revelation 22:1-5

Here we see the tree of life, bearing fruit, in a picture of what’s to come. What is being promised at the end of time?

An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

The big picture

Bobbie Frere | Colossians 1:1-2,15-20 

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him... For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Where and how can we make a difference for the kingdom of God? Bringing people into a direct relationship with God is of truly life-changing importance, but it is not the whole story. Introducing our new series, "Fruitfulness on the frontline", Bobbie explains that Jesus is Lord not just of the spiritual realm but of the physical world too. Over the coming weeks we will explore how we can work this out in our everyday lives.

The recording begins with the reading from Kate Routley.

An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

How do we keep going to the end?

Ben Green | Job 42.7-17

The Lord said, 'My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.' ... and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

To close the series Ben summarises what Job teaches us about the life of a believer: marked by warfare, requiring patience, humility and forgiveness - with blessing at the end.

The recording begins with the reading from Dan Parnell.

Who alone can rescue?

Ben Green | Job 38.1 - 42.6

'Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!'

In the penultimate talk of the series, Ben looks at God's two speeches in reply to Job.  First God reminds Job that he is God - creator, sustainer of all.  Then he explores the nature of evil through the pictures of Behemoth and Leviathan - powerful and dangerous but God is still ultimately in charge.

The recording begins with the reading from Dilys Garrod.

Interlude: What has the Lord done?

Graham Romp | Job 9.32-35 | James 5.7-11

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming... As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

In this interlude in our series 'Job: Out of the Storm' Graham explores how Job points to Jesus in what he says (expressing hope), in how he lived (he didn't give up on God) and in what he suffered (innocent, rejected, betrayed, deserted, outside the city walls).  One of the key lessons is this: righteousness is not incompatible with suffering.  In fact Job suffers because he was righteous, exactly like Jesus: the cross shows us righteousness and suffering are deeply and intimately linked.  Job thought he wanted justice, but what he actually got, was grace.

The recording begins with the reading from James Williams.

How dare you talk to God like that?

Ben Green | Job 32:1-5 | Job 33:8-18 

Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him... When he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

‘But I tell you, in this you are not right,
  for God is greater than any mortal.
Why do you complain to him
  that he responds to no one’s words?
For God does speak - now one way, now another -
  though no one perceives it.’

Into the debate, which has gone round in circles for so long, steps an angry young man, Elihu. What good can he possibly do? Yet, as Ben explains, he sees beyond everyone else - the older friends with their simplistic worldview, and Job who has come to believe that God is against him. Ben urges us to listen to God and trust him, in good times and bad.

The recording begins with the reading from John Davies. The sermon is based on the whole of chapters 32 to 37.

The good, the bad and the hopeful

Allan Bartlam | Job 29:1-17 | Job 30:9-10, 30:16-23, 31:35-37 

‘How I long for the months gone by,
  for the days when God watched over me,
when his lamp shone on my head
  and by his light I walked through darkness!
Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
  when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,
when the Almighty was still with me
  and my children were around me.’
...
‘I cry out to you, God,
  but you do not answer;
I stand up,
  but you merely look at me.
You turn on me ruthlessly;
  with the might of your hand you attack me.’
...
‘Oh, that I had someone to hear me!’

Job contrasts the blessedness of his former life - maybe it was not quite as perfect as he remembers it? - with the agony of his present state. As Allan explains, most of us experience a mixture of the two, but we can learn from Job's honesty.

The recording includes the readings from Sarah Trinder and ends with a short reflection from Cathie Bartlam.

Why will God not answer my question?

Ben Green | Proverbs 8:1-11, 22-29 | Job 28 

Does not wisdom call out?
  Does not understanding raise her voice?
...
‘Choose my instruction instead of silver,
  knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
  and nothing you desire can compare with her.’

Where then does wisdom come from?
  Where does understanding dwell?
...
God understands the way to it
  and he alone knows where it dwells,
for he views the ends of the earth
  and sees everything under the heavens.

After all the rounds of inconclusive debate between Job and his friends, an interlude comes in the form of a poem about the most precious thing anyone could have - wisdom. But what is it, and where is it to be found? As Ben explains, all our searches lead us to Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.

The recording begins with the readings from Susan Mole.