Remember these are only notes, so please don’t expect good grammar, sentence structure and spelling!

What does a minister of religion say to service men and women?

New Testament may surprise us.

Roman Centurians.

§         Eight different one's - all portrayed as good men.

§         (Of course not that everyone was good, but the ones whom we meet  in NT are).

§         Humanity, sincere religion, no pomposity, generous and thoughtful.

What may be even more surprising to some is:

§         the New Testament was a book written by Jewish followers of Jesus Christ who was born a Jew.

§         Romans were the occupying army

§         Roman emperors were very cruel.

§         Later in NT cruel and powerful political leadership - Beast`

All of us are under some kind of authority.

§         Because the organisation we work for has its faults, does not mean we should give it up.

§         No-one would do anything and all work would stop.

Often our choices are: Lesser of two evils.

§         I don't believe that war is ever a good thing.

§         The best it can be is 'lesser of two evils'

§         To ignore the evil - even greater suffering in the long run.

§         A friend of mine was involved in the latter part of second world war.

§         He believed it right that he was involved and yet, he felt he needed to bring it all to God and say sorry that he was involved in its violence.

§         Yet he still believed it right that he was involved - lesser of two evils.

The N. T. does have words of genuine censure - indeed warnings of hell to other groups.

Who? Politicians? No!

Opinion formers and another group.

§         Influenced the thinking and shaped the minds of ordinary people.

§         Soljenitzen: Gulags.

§         Came to West.

§         You elect politicians. Yet the most powerful are the media - shape our thinking - and they are not elected by anyone.

§         I just wonder what Christ would say today about those who most shape our thinking and attitudes.

Another group censored by Christ.

Religious leadership!

§         Many people criticise organised religion and religious leadership

§         I say well come to my Sunday service - we are very disorganised!

The book, which is harshest in its criticism of religious leadership, is the Bible itself.

§         Paradox. Society cannot survive without faith in God.

Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.  (Tocqueville)

§         Not any god.

§         God who is known as Father, Saviour and Judge - not dictator.

Faith has to have some structure - not be entirely chaotic.

So there has to be religious leadership.

Here is the danger:

Religion at its best:

§         Humbly open to the love of God, (Father, Saviour and Judge) so that we find forgiveness for our sins and we become open to one another.

§         Self-giving love - Cross.

§         It is God who is self-giving.

§         Leads to society that is tolerant but,

§                                             recognises that good and evil really exist

§                                             and we are responsible for the decisions we make.

Self-giving is something spoken of at Remembrance services.

Example of ordinary religion at its best:

Poem from a man in a 1^st (or 2^nd) World War trench:

Lord God, I have never spoken to you

But now I want to say `how do you do’.

You see God they told me You didn’t exist

Like a fool I believed all this

Last night from a shell hole I saw your sky

I figured right then they had told me a lie

Had I taken time to see the things you made

I would have known they were not calling a spade a spade.

I wonder God if you’ll take my hand

Somehow God I’ll feel you’ll understand

Funny O God that I had to come to this hellish place

Before I had time to see your face.

I guess there isn’t much to say

But I’m sure glad God I met you today

I guess zero hour will soon be here

But I’m not afraid since I know you are near.

The signal: 

 Well God I’ll have to go

I like you lots I want you to know

Look now this will be a horrible fight

Who knows I’ll come to your home tonight.

Though I wasn’t friendly to you before

I wonder God if you’d wait at your door.

I’m shedding tears, I’ll have to go now so Goodbye

Since I’ve met you, I’m not afraid to die.

Religion at its worst - turning it on its head.

§         Source of self-righteousness.

§         Desperately try to justify myself before God - fanaticism.

§         Lead to conflict and war.

§         Means of self-justification and spiritual abuse of ordinary people.

§         (Media have to be careful not to abuse people's minds)

§         Religious leadership has to be careful not to abuse the human spirit of ordinary people.

Self-giving - Cross.

Service men and women gave their lives - selfgiving..

Not the same as suicide bombers - who say they rejoice in death and killing.

Though I give my life to be burned and have not love it profiteth me nothing.

Service Men and Women gave their lives because they believed that human life is sacred and needs to be protected from those who despised the lives of other peoples.

In our Lord's day there were very different attitudes and political opinions.

These differing opinions were very important to people.

Jesus addresses a large crowd on the hillside in Galilee.

Does he believe we should invade Iraq or does he believe we should leave well alone?

What does he think of the latest problems in the Royal Family?

Is he going to have a word of support for my pressure group?

§         Many would have been wondering which sides in the many controversies Jesus would align Himself with.

§         However, throughout the sermon He didn't even mention the controversies.

§         Did that mean that His message was irrelevant to these disputes?

§         Not at all! His message went right to the heart of his hearers and therefore challenged the deepest motives behind their arguments and struggles.

§         Deeper issues underlying the controversies of the day.

§         All sections of the population eventually rejected Him,

§         but in His dying He prayed for our forgiveness and in His resurrection renewed His promise that He would come again at the end of the age to renew all things and save those who humbly look to Him.

Bertrand Russell (famous 20^th C Atheist philsopher) said that the most important questions of life have no answer in science and therefore no answer at all!

I don't agree - I think there are answers.

A few of his questions:

1. Is there a way of living that is noble and another that is base, or are all ways of living merely futile?

Yes there is a way that is noble and a way that is base.

2. If there is a way of living that is noble. In what does it consist, and how shall we achieve it?

Read the Sermon on Mount Matthew 5, 6 and 7.

3. Must the good be eternal in order to deserve to be valued, or is it worth seeking even if the universe is inexorably moving towards death? …

Can the following give the answer we need?

Matt 5:6-8,10: John 15:13:  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.          Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (NIV)

These verses imply that there is more to reality than the universe.

======================================================