Understanding the story

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Matthew 17:1-9 and 2 Peter 1:16-21

Understanding the story

Lincon Hardouin

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I want you to listen to the following quotes. Do you know where they come from?

 ·         “May the force be with you.” – Starwars

·         “No sacrifice, no victory.” – Transformers

·         “He huffed and he puffed...” – Three little pigs

·         "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." – Alice in wonderland

When we think of these quotes, some from movies, some from books, we know them. We can easily recognize them because we know the stories and because we know them, we understand them. But let’s say we didn’t know the stories. Let’s say that this was the first time hearing these quotes, what understanding would we have if the quote itself was the only thing we knew? Would there be any understanding at all? Well the same principle applies when we look at scripture – looking at one single “quote” does not necessarily give us an understanding of the whole story, but understanding comes when we look at the whole story. This, I believe, is one of the most beautiful things about the transfiguration narrative – it is not simply one quotation but it points us to an understanding of, at least in part, the full story. Why do I say this?

"Now choose life..."

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and Psalm 119:1-8

"Now choose life..."

Lincon Hardouin

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Our passage this morning opens with a very simple, albeit, vitally important choice offered to the Israelite nation – it is the choice between life and prosperity or death and destruction – and in essence, this is Moses’ final appeal to the nation before his succession by Joshua in chapter 31 and his death, which is recalled in the final chapter of Deuteronomy (chapter 34). Preceding this text though, we see Moses announcing breath-taking blessings to an obedient Israel as well as blood-curdling curses to a disobedient and apostate Israel, all found in chapter 28 while, in chapters 29 and 30, we see highlighted, the terms of the renewal of the covenant which God made with His people while they were in Horeb as well as the covenant He has now made with them in Moab. And in the verses before our passage this morning, Moses makes one thing very clear, he says, “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach… No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it (30:11-14).” In other words, the commandment of God do not exceed the human capacity to understand and perform them.

Let your light shine before others

Preacher: Gordon Hay

Verses: Psalm 112:1-10 and Matthew 5:13-20

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Jesus said that we are to be the salt. Reading from the Message[1]:

 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God- flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.”

 If you were here last Sunday, you would have heard Lincon’s sermon on Micah 6:8. It was a very powerful message.

If you weren’t here please visit the Trinity website[2] and you will find a written summary of the sermon as well as a sound file that you can download.

If you were here I would ask you to find the time to read or listen to that message again.

Verse eight ends with these words: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

And this against the background of the prophecy in Jeremiah.[3] , “I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel …” “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.”

In the passage read for us this morning from Matthew, Jesus instructs us how we are to live if we are to reflect the new covenant written on our hearts.

[1] In Matthew 5:13

[2] www.trinity.org.za

[3] Jeremiah 31:31-34

What the Lord requires

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Micah 6:1-8

What the Lord requires

Lincon Hardouin

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When we look at this astounding, albeit somewhat harsh and critical, text from Micah chapter 6, what we are essentially looking are the beginning phases of a courtroom drama. The initial call, as I am sure we can all imagine, is one that would probably terrify anyone who hears it. Imagine standing before the Lord, knowing everything that we do about Him, about His plan for creation, about His purpose for each one of us, about His power, His authority, His might... imagine standing there, not as a spectator, not as a member of the jury, not as one called in to be a witness against another, but standing there as the accused, as the one who has broken the ‘law’, as the one who is the centre of this trial.  And in the Lord’s opening statement He utters these words to you, to allow you the time to prepare your defence as He brings charges against you. He says, “Stand up, plead your case before the mountains, let the hills hear what you have to say.”