Hello and welcome to the STC Foundations Daily podcast.

My name is Tom Flynn, I’m a youth worker for STC Sheffield and this week I’m the first of five voices you’ve probably heard a little less than our usual crowd. This week as we continue through Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells a series of intricate stories called Parables as a way of explaining God’s heart to his people.

REFLECTION:

Matthew chapter 13, verse 33 says this: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 60 pounds of flour until it worked all throughout the dough.”

I love a good metaphor. And while using them badly can make simple things hard to understand and even harder to listen to, used well they reveal depth and soul to an otherwise empty concept. Jesus could have just said that God, given a foothold in your life, will change who you are and how you interact with the world, but by talking about the proverbial yeast in this passage I’m going to make it last six whole minutes.

But as we pull the bread apart, there are three beautiful truths that Jesus conveys in the passage that might not otherwise be obvious.

First: Much like yeast fills flour with life, Jesus is alive and fills us with His life. We may be a little past ‘bread week’, but those who have seen bread prove will know that dough with an active ingredient such as yeast will double or triple in size before it gets cooked. In the same way, as we encounter God, his presence inspires us to grow. To grow in love, in joy, to grow in peace and mercy. When God works within us, we become so much more than we would ever have imagined we could be. As we take this into the places of struggle, suddenly we can take the heat.

The second truth is this: Yeast only reveals what the flour could be. You see, flour does not cease to be flour and we don’t cease to be us. When the spirit inspires and changes us, it only perfects what God had already made beautiful. I don’t know if you ever go into a day feeling like you just aren’t enough, but as God made you, you are amazing in ways you have yet to realise. You are his beloved child, he adores you as you are and he always made you to be none other than you. Wherever you are today, remember how loved you are. That you, personally you, were fearfully and wonderfully made.

Lastly, a reminder that the yeast of the Kingdom of Heaven is powerfully active wherever we mix it in. As we approach anything in our day, we should remember that God will work in anything of us that we allow him. The God who gives us life, who grows and perfects us, who loves us beyond death itself and wants nothing but our everything. So when I drop a pen under my desk, do I ask God to help me find it, when everything seems lost and control goes out the window, do I ask God for His peace and His power? Do I allow God to the places in me that I feel can never be redeemed and let Him change the parts of me that I already consider perfect? Bread with gross clumps of unmixed flour is a sad thing to find on the shelf. But God himself would stoop beyond even the messiest parts of our hearts.

You see, Jesus never spoke in Parables to convey less and a woman making a mountain of bread, from but the smallest of influences, tells more in one sentence than I could speak in 6 minutes. The richness of God’s work within us has led to thousands upon thousands of songs, preaches, books and works of art. My challenge today is not to focus on the things I have said, but to take them into account and ask yourself how a small influence by the Spirit of God within us could bring eternal and unknowable change to our friends, our colleagues, the people we see each day.

PRAYER:

Let us Pray: Lord, thank you that you are working within us each and every day, perfecting us and making us more like you. I pray today that you would provide opportunities for us to speak to others of your transformative power in our lives.

Hi church. It’s Friday … we’ve made it. It’s been an absolute pleasure to share my heart and God’s word with you this week. Thank you for putting up with my ramblings and I hope something of it connected with your soul to help you through this great adventure we call life. 

On Monday we learnt through the faith of the Canaanite woman to be persistent in prayer, on Tuesday we learnt through the feeding of the 4 thousand to lean in to an abundance mindset and on Wednesday, we learnt to be on guard to false teaching or influences through Jesus’s warning about the Pharisees and Sadducees. Yesterday we learnt in surrender to Jesus we gain everything as Jesus forecasts his coming sacrifice for us on the cross. Today’s passage is Matthew 17:1–13, the glorious story of the Transfiguration, with a particular focus on verses 5-8. 

REFLECTION:

Have you ever been so scared, fearful, anxious or stressed that you are just rooted to the spot? 

Has COVID put your plans on hold? 

Has a diagnosis stopped you in your tracks? 

Have financial pressures forced you to stay in the same job or the same place? 

Research has found that the human body deals with stress or something it finds absolutely terrifying in one of three ways; fight, flight or freeze.  

You could fight an actual predator (attack or disaster) or an imagined one (social/health anxiety). Your muscles tense, you start to sweat, your heart beats faster – you act on impulse to save and preserve yourself. You fight.  

You could take flight. Escape an overwhelming threat whether real or imagined. If you’re unable to fight, you need to get to safety, and fast. Your blood pressure rises and your blood sugar increases. The adrenaline you feel pushes you to flee the situation. 

Chances are, you’re picturing yourself dealing with a situation in the best way by either running for safety or readying to face (fight) the problem, actually by far the most common response is that of the disciples to freeze. 

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 

The disciples froze as they were overcome by a holy fear by the presence of the Holy One. Spurgeon puts I this way, “They were in the immediate presence of God, and listening to their Father’s voice: well might they lie and prostrate and tremble. Too clear a manifestation of God, even though it related to Jesus, would rather overpower than empower us.” 

Freezing is the primal, desperate attempt to stop the threat, whether real or imagined, from spotting you. When facing danger, it’s common for our minds to slow down and assess the situation. Blood is diverted from the brain and thinking becomes incredibly difficult. It is easier to stay exactly where you are. 

But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 

This is what Jesus does. He reaches down to us, speaks gently to us and he reminds us that he is our saviour, he is our Messiah and he is bigger than any threat, real or imagined, that may come our way. The simplest lesson the disciples learnt and we can learn from this passage is to turn your eyes upon Jesus.  

When you are laid off or lose income … turn your eyes upon Jesus 

When you get that dreaded diagnosis … turn your eyes upon Jesus 

When you are cowering in fear … turn your eyes upon Jesus 

When all around you is shifting or crumbling . . . turn your eyes upon Jesus 

in the words of the great hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace” 

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are our saviour and bigger and more power...

Hello church. It’s Thursday . . . you are nearly there, the weekend is on the horizon and only 2 more days left with my dulcet Derbyshire tones. Poor things! 

On Monday we learnt through the faith of the Canaanite woman to be persistent in prayer, on Tuesday we learnt through the feeding of the 4 thousand to lean in to an abundance mindset and on Wednesday, we learnt to be on guard to false teaching or influences through Jesus’s warning about the Pharisees and Sadducees. Today’s passage is Matthew 16:13-28, Peter’s declaration of Jesus Messiah and Jesus’ prediction of his own death, but for the purposes of today, we will be honing in on verses 24-26. 

REFLECTION:

Growing up in Chesterfield or Chez Vegas, we didn’t have the comfy middle-class existence I have now and therefore as a family had to be more frugal – I wasn’t wearing brand names, I didn’t have the best trainers, we certainly didn’t shop at Waitrose and we did a lot of holidays on a campsite – big up to Haven holiday club. However, what we did have was a house full of love so I never really missed any of those things and our situation did vastly improve – my parents have been really generous to my sister and I. 

But, a poverty spirit seems to have remained with me. I hang on to control of every situation, including my finances. I’m like the king in the counting house, counting all his money, I force situations ahead of God’s timing and stay in situations that I should let go of.  Hanging on so hard and striving to preserve myself and my situation has led to burnout and mental health issues in the past. It will do again if I continue to do so.  

Jesus’s answer to this is surprisingly simple to say but exceedingly difficult and sometimes painful to do. 

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 

God is calling me to deny myself, my security, my little Scrooge mentality, the fortress I have built for myself and follow him. Is there anything you are holding onto? A part of you that needs to be set free? 

Look I get it, it can be really painful … excruciating even. Jesus understands this pain, having suffered with us and for us. Invite him in to this pain. Speak the words out and let go, the truth will set you free. 

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 

You can’t gain resurrection life without dying first. We must follow Jesus this way, because it is the only way that we will ever find life. It sounds paradoxical but remember you don’t lose a seed when you plant it, though it seems dead and buried. Instead, you set the seed free to be what it was always intended to be. 

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  

If we keep avoiding the process of surrender means that we may gain the whole world, all the finances and material reward this world can bring and still end up losing everything. We’re not alone in this, Jesus has been there, had the opportunity to gain all the world by worshipping Satan (Luke 4:5-8), but He found life and victory in obedience instead.  

And folks … the truth is in giving our lives to Jesus all the way and he’ll give way more fulfilment, happiness, peace, joy and blessings in return. 

PRAYER:

God, I give you all of me. Search my heart and my mind every day and in all situations to see where I need to surrender to your ways and release control.  I want all that you have for me. Amen! 

BIBLE READING: Matthew 16:13-28

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’

They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’

Hello, we’ve made it … half way through the week. How are you doing?

On Monday we learnt through the faith of the Canaanite woman to be persistent in prayer, on Tuesday we learnt through the feeding of the 4 thousand to lean in to an abundance mindset. Let’s see what we can glean from today’s passage, which is Matthew 16:1-12 – detailing Jesus’s dealing with Pharisees and Sadducees. We will be focussing on verse 6. 

REFLECTION:

Do you love podcasts?  

My favourite thing to do on a walk or on our commute from Chesterfield each day is listen to any number of podcasts via Google … other podcast providers are available. I listen to lots of different podcasts but they usually focus on church and business leadership (This Cultural Moment, Carey Niewhof), health and fitness (Feel Better, Live More) or sport (The Rugby Pod).  

These podcasts influence the way I see the world, my thoughts and feelings and ultimately my actions in many subtle ways. I mostly learn good lessons from them and their application to my life helps me to grow, it bears fruit. In the cases where it doesn’t these influences are fairly harmless or innocuous, apart from some of the fruity language on the Rugby Pod. However, in today’s passage, Jesus is warning us against something of a much more malicious and evil intent. 

“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 

Yeast or leaven in some Bible translations is consistently used as a picture of sin and corruption and just like yeast spreads through bread or beer, sin is liable to spread through life and to corrupt it. Here Jesus is particularly emphasising the dangerous teachings and practices of the Pharisees and Sadducees … look I didn’t know the difference either so here you are. 

The main differences are on their beliefs of the supernatural and their status in Jewish society. The Pharisees were invested in the religious aspects of religion, holding to a literal translation of the Old Testament and believing in an afterlife whereas the Sadducees were largely secular and denied the idea of being resurrected from the grave after death. The Sadducees were the darlings of Jewish society, holding the power to influence the Jewish nation any way they see fit – the “old money” if you like. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were “new money”, more closely connected with the common people of the Jewish culture. They were typically merchants or business owners who had become wealthy enough to turn their attention to studying and interpreting the Scriptures. 

The yeast or false teaching Jesus is challenging is the Pharisees reliance on tradition, the law and the external religious appearance and the Sadducee’s denying the truth of the resurrection, as well as the existence of spirits or angels. False teaching (such as the Pharisees and Sadducees held to) causes us to think more highly of ourselves and what we do and what our position in society is rather than who we are on the inside (our hearts) and who Jesus is the fulfilment of the law and the prophets… he was the Messiah. 

What do I think this means for me and for you? 

Guard your heart!!!! 

Read God’s truth in his Word daily.  

Have trustworthy people speak into your life.  

Be intentional with what you watch or listen to. 

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you that you care about who we are on the inside, that you are concerned with our hearts and not what we show to everyone else. Help us to guard our hearts and avoid the false teaching that so easily spreads into every area of life and to always remember that you are who you say you are, the Messiah. Amen! 

BIBLE READING: Matthew 16:1-12

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

He replied, ‘When evening comes, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,

Hi, It’s Tuesday’s Daily Podcast. Yesterday we heard the story of the faithful Canaanite woman persevering in prayer. Today’s passage is Matthew 15:29-39 – the feeding of the four thousand. We are going to focus on verses 33-37. 

His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”  

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.  

Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 

REFLECTION:

I have a question for you this morning; when it comes to money, objects, opportunities. Do you believe that there is plenty to go around or do you see that life only has so much for you – so you have to take and then protect what is yours? How does that mindset affect your day to day? 

Stephen Covey, in his bestseller, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote about this in terms of people who live with a scarcity mentality or an abundance mentality.  

A scarcity mentality refers to people seeing life as a finite pie, so that if one person takes a big piece, that leaves less for everyone else. A person with this mentality has a short-term focus, sees limitations, won’t take risks and looks to control outcomes. They need I to make sure they look good to succeed. 

I have had times when I have lived that way, particularly recently with our turbulent personal circumstances and with the added pressure we all have with COVID, it’s ramped up a notch. It is perfectly normal to do this especially when you are living with a pain or struggle, a survival instinct kicks in and you are looking to protect yourself and those you love.  

The disciples even showed that when they asked “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”. Their reality was guided by their mindset … look at what we lack, there is a limit to how many people we can feed with what we have, there is only so much to go around! You know what … this is perfectly understandable but Jesus loves us too much to leave us there, he wants us to see the world as he sees it – with an abundance mentality.  

An abundance mentality looks at the world in a polar opposite way. A person with this mentality has a long-term focus, they see opportunities, they think big and take risks, they trust the process. Jesus didn’t put a limit on what was there, he thought big and knew that if I succeed or you succeed, we all succeed.  

Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 

It was no coincidence there were 7 baskets left over – 7 is the number of abundance and completeness. Jesus was helping his disciples to change their perspectives and see the world in a different way from scarcity to abundance. There is a lesson in that for us all to look for open doors not closed ones, to think of investment and not cost control, to embrace risk and not fear it. 

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus help us to see the world through your eyes, to see an abundance where others might see scarcity, and live the full and abundant life to have called us to. A life that sees open doors, think big and trusts your process. Amen! 

BIBLE READING: Matthew 15:29-39

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.

Good morning STC Sheffield.  

Welcome to a brand-new week of the STC Daily Podcast! 

You may have been expecting to carry on where Helen left off in Matthew 13, where Jesus was telling some of his amazing parables to his disciples. However, in a quick change to our usual scheduled programming, we have had to advance on to Matthew 15, due to staff absence. We’re sorry about this and don’t worry we will revisit what we have missed.

REFLECTION:

I’m Luke – I work on the staff team at STC and I am delighted to be able to share with you what I believe God is saying to us at this time through his word. The passage for today’s thought (which is read out at the end) is Matthew 15:21-28, on the Faith of a Canaanite woman. Before we get to that let me ask you … 

Have you ever felt desperate? Do you feel desperate now?  

As the nation and the NHS were locked down – did you suffer from the anguish of anxiety and the black dog of depression? Do you or a loved one have an underlying health condition that is not being treated at the moment? 

As the nation has dived into a recession – have your finances taken a turn for the worse? Are you one of the multitudes to have lost a job?  

As over 40,000 people have lost their lives to this terrible virus – have you lost someone you love? 

I want to let you know that if you are feeling like this … I’m with you … I’ve felt desperate … I know your pain – at least in a small way. 

My wife and I have been trying for a family for close to 4 years now. It’s been test after test with no explanation, medication after medication without any progress and heartbreak after heartbreak as those we love have the families we dream of. Frankly, it’s also been prayer after prayer seemingly coming back empty! 

I know what you’re thinking … this guy really needs a hug or some Prozac. 

Let me and the Canaanite woman encourage you then … Jesus can answer, will answer and is the answer. Today’s passage shows what desperation + faith looks like. 

“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 

Two details here. This woman was full of faith and recognising Jesus as, the Messiah, the only one that could make a difference for her daughter, and approached Jesus for her miracle. She does this before the disciples – Peter only manages it in the next chapter. 

She was so full of courage. For some context, in first century culture, women and Canaanites weren’t exactly esteemed company for a Rabbi and his followers. Put the two together – double trouble! She smashed a few glass ceilings in approaching Jesus in this way. A modern-day Michelle Obama! 

Jesus did not answer a word. So, his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 

Jesus doesn’t always give us a reply straight away, even to a cry of grief, and sometimes it’s not what we want to hear – a no or not yet (e.g. Jesus response about Israel). This woman shows great persistence – she ignores the haters (the disciples), doubles down and changes her posture to one of submission before the Lord of mercy.  

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”. “Yes, it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. 

Again, Jesus gives a no or not yet statement, stating that his miracles are for the Jewish people. Dogs here is not a derogatory term – it is just a colloquialism for not Jewish – who have a special place in God’s redemption plan. If it was me with my short temper and blunt Derbyshire way of things,

Welcome to the final podcast of this week.  It has been a pleasure to bring these reflections on Matthew’s Gospel to you over the last few days.

We are finishing the week by looking at a well known parable that Jesus told – the Parable of the Sower.  It’s a very long passage so I won’t be reading it at the end, but you can find it in your Bibles later, in Matthew Chapter 13 vs1-23.  Today we are going to focus on verses 8, 9, 12 and 16, and I’m using the New Century Version.

“Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more.Let those with ears use them and listen……Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need…… You are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears.”

REFLECTION:

When we are experiencing challenging times, there can be a tendency to become a bit inward looking, and to always focus on the difficulties and the problems regarding our current situation.  In our Christian faith, this might be expressed through constantly looking at what God hasn’t done or isn’t doing, or the areas where our prayers have remained seemingly unanswered.

In the coronavirus challenges that face my family, the narrative might sound something like this:

“I’m a Headteacher during Covid, I don’t have a senior team that lead with me, and the workload is just unbelievable……and what about our eldest son – he could be facing weeks on end sat in his tiny student flat, having no face-to-face contact with his lecturers, plus I really don’t know when we will see him again.  What on earth will Christmas be like if he is not with us……and anyway Christmas is pretty much a write off because we are a family of 5, so we can’t see any relatives.  If Alan can’t see his Dad this Christmas, then once this all ends it will probably be 2 years since he last saw him.  And then poor Max – he is just going to school each day not knowing if he is even going to take his A-levels in the summer, he’s trying to choose a university, but he can’t visit any of them, and at any moment his bubble could be sent home because there is a case in school, and he has already missed so much teaching time.  This could really impact his future.  Oh and then Faith – well social distancing is just a nightmare for her.  She’s visually impaired and she can’t actually see 2 metres away.  How is she going to make friends in her new school when she can’t even see people’s faces?  Oh Lord – you have to do something about this.”

I am sure you could write a version of this for your own situation, and you may be facing some personal challenges that are far greater or much more serious.

However, in Matthew Chapter 13 vs22, Jesus says this, “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

In this challenging time, are we being choked by the worries of this life?

Are the thorns or the weeds around us preventing us from growing and being fruitful?

So far this week, we have seen that in challenging times, Jesus promises us rest, He gives us hope and He promotes relationship.  In today’s Bible reading we see that in the midst of challenging times, Jesus tellsus that we are blessed.

“Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more.Let those with ears use them and listen……Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need…… You are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears.”

As Christians, we have seen Jesus – we have looked at who he is and understand that he is our Saviour.

Thank you for listening to the daily podcast from STC Sheffield.  Our Bible reading today is Matthew 12 vs38-50, and we’re going to focus on verses 46-50:

“While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.  Someone told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’  He replied to them, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’  Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

REFLECTION:

In this challenging time, I wonder how your relationships with other people have been?

Has it been a challenge to be in lockdown or self-isolation with the people you live with – when it’s just you, and them, and the same 4 walls?  You love them dearly, but let’s be honest, you could do with a break!

Or are you a raging extrovert who has struggled with the fact that you can only meet 5 other people at a time, and who is secretly terrified of the thought of not being able to see anyone from another household when a local lockdown happens?

Or perhaps you find it hard to feel connected over Zoom or Facetime, and therefore have just absented yourself from relationships and groups that you were previously committed to?

Whatever your experience, maintaining relationships is certainly a challenge during these Covid times.

As we saw on Monday, in these chapters of Matthew, Jesus is also experiencing a challenging time – and one of those challenges was regarding his relationships.

In today’s passage, Jesus’ mother and brothers are mentioned at the end of a long speech Jesus gave to the Pharisees and the gathered crowd. However, if we look at Mark’s Gospel, it is clear they have been present all along. In Mark Chapter 3 v21 we learn that they had gone to “take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.” In other words, Jesus’ mother and brothers had come to tell him off, to get him to stop talking nonsense, and to take him back home where they could control him!

I think it’s fair to say that Jesus is experiencing some challenges within his family relationships.

This account is included in Luke’s gospel as well.  However, these 3 writers don’t mention this moment in Jesus’ ministry in order to give every teenager from then on permission to ignore their parents, and refuse to come home when they turn up at the door of a friend’s house late at night. Nor does it give us, as adults, the license to just walk away from relationships if things are challenging.  We know this because in Matthew 12 verse 25 Jesus said, “a family that’s in a constant squabble disintegrates.”

Instead what we seeis that in the midst of challenging times Jesus promotes relationship; but he does so in such a way that is powerfully counter cultural.  He wants to transform our understanding of family, and our commitment to relationship.

Let’s unpack that a bit more……….

The Old Testament talks a lot about family as we would recognise it. There are chapters where we read verse after verse of names ‘who was the son of, who was the son of…….. whose mother was, whose father was’ et cetera, et cetera. This is family based on lineage and descent. Identifying family in this way was particularly important in Old Testament times, as it was the channel through which property, land and money was passed on, and it was the place where people would submit to authority and be disciplined.

Therefore, by refusing to speak to his mother and brothers, and not leaving with them, Jesus is saying that he will not submit to their authority nor be disciplined by them.However, when Jesus takes himself out from under the authority of his nuclear family, he doesn’t then decide to go it alone.

In the midst of challenging times, Jesus doesn’t give up on relationships,

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday’s podcast. My name is Laura and I lead our Under 5s work here at STC Sheffield. Our reading today is Matthew 12 verses 22-37. We will focus on verses 33-35:

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognised by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

REFLECTION:

Helen has already spoken about how, in the Bible passages we are reading this week, Jesus is facing many challenges and frustrations. In today’s passage Jesus heals the demon possessed man so that he could see and talk again but the Pharisees say that this is the work of Satan. The bad fruit of their words revealed the bad roots in their hearts as they rejected this miraculous healing. I am sure at the time the man was healed that there was much gossip and intrigue over what had happened.  I can imagine friends and neighbours discussing the healing and who to believe. The Biblical equivalent of gossiping at the school gate! The people who witnessed the healing had a choice – to accept Jesus’ account and turn to God or to listen to the “careless words” (verse 36) of the Pharisees.  At the moment, in the midst of the pandemic, I am really aware of how many different, often competing, voices and opinions we are exposed to, from those of politicians and scientists to the views of our family and friends.

The words we choose to hear can easily cause our hearts to become burdened, weary and fearful.

Isaiah 40, verse 8 says:

 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

When we look back over the last week, whose words are we relying on? Is it in the words we hear on social media about the pandemic or is it in the hope given to us by Jesus? This is not to say we should downplay the situations we are facing, as individuals or as a nation, but instead hear God’s words over those of the world: He walks with us when times are good and when times are bad; in the mountains and the valleys.

In the last couple of weeks in the news, you may have seen that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. She was a Supreme Court Justice in the United States.  As a judge she has left behind many words. The news and social media has been full of her most famous quotes.  Even though I didn’t know her, through reading her words I got a sense of the person she was, her values and what was important to her.

Verses 34 and 35 say:

“…For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”  

Our words reflect our heart to those that hear them. Not many of us will have our words scrutinised to the extent that Justice Ginsburg did but what do our words reveal to those that hear them? Are they words of hope? What do the conversations we have with our friends, neighbours, parents at the school gate or our colleagues on Zoom show to those around us? Do they point others to Jesus?

Another news story in the last few weeks was about the parrots at a zoo in Lincolnshire. In August they adopted some new parrots who were introduced into their existing aviary. Unfortunately the new parrots could swear and began to teach the old parrots bad language. They have had to be removed because they were swearing in front of the visitors. The parrots did not choose to fill their hearts with good things, they did not choose wisely who and what to listen to! What do we want our witness to be about? What do our words say about us? In this pandemic season, how do we store up good things in our heart so that the words coming from our hearts are good fruit? Unlike the parrots,

Hi! It’s Tuesday 6th October and the theme for today’s podcast is “In challenging times Jesus is our Hope.”  Our Bible reading is Matthew Chapter 12 vs1-21.

REFLECTION:

I’d like to start with a question……..What are you hoping for right now?

As I sit writing this, it has been less than 24 hours since we left our eldest son at university for the first time.

19 years ago, he was a tiny baby, with a fuzz of ginger hair, and as I looked down at him, there were so many hopes and dreams that raced through my heart and mind:

I hoped he would be happy and healthy

I hoped he would sleep through the night

I hoped that we would create lots of fun memories together

I hoped I would be a good mum

I hoped people would stop asking me where the ginger hair came from…

 

Now he is nearly 6ft 5, and he still has all that ginger hair, but my hopes and dreams are a little different:

I hope his flat mates are not into wild parties, drinking and drugs

I hope that he learns how to use a washing machine

I hope he finds a great church and Christian friends to journey with

I hope that he isn’t put into lockdown and we get to see him before 2021

I hope that his flatmates enjoy his tendency to sing Michael Buble Christmas classics at the drop of a hat

I hoped that I could hold it together and not cry until we got in the car to drive away…….but my husband will tell you that was a crazy thing to hope for in the first place!

 

I don’t know what you are hoping for right now; but whatever it is, the belief or the feeling of hope is powerful.

Psychology journals are full of articles and research papers explaining the importance of hope.

Hope can manage stress and anxiety.

Hope can help us cope with adversity.

Hope is future looking.

People who have hope in their lives are found to be happier, healthier, and even live longer.

But in the face of a global pandemic, in a nation experiencing a mental health crisis, in a country that has become increasingly divided and polarised politically, against a back drop of issues such as climate change and racism……is it little wonder that so many people feel so hopeless?  That hope has been lost.

And yet, it is exactly this situation that the Christian faith speaks into.

 

In verse 21 of Matthew Chapter 12, we read:

“In his name the nations will put their hope.”

In challenging times Jesus is our hope. He is the hope for our nation.  He is the hope for all nations.

 

Hope means, “to expect with confidence,” “to cherish a desire with anticipation.”

In the Bible, hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised, and the strength of that hope is in God’s faithfulness. He always keeps his word.

In Revelation 21, God makes us this promise,

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 

This is what God has promised.  We can confidently expect that this will happen.  We can cherish the desire to see this with eager anticipation.  Our hope in this promise should be so strong, so secure, so unshakeable, because it is based on the truth that God is always faithful to his word.

Right now,this may seem like a distant dream; so far removed from the challenging times that we are facing.  But hope is future looking.  And so, we put our hope in the name of Jesus – that he has already won the battle and that we will get to experience this new heaven and new earth for ourselv...