| First Series
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| Geoff's Sunday series starts on this page, please view the second series for later sermons. | ||
| Geoff's First Sermons | ||
| Geoff has planned a series of five sermons for his first five services at each church in the benefice, to explain the basis of his ministry. They will be based on the principles of: | ||
Each member ministry |
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Inclusive Church worship
and activities |
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Community based Mission |
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Relevant Bible teaching |
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| Reports on each of the sermons will follow, a recording of the sermons will be available for anyone, upon request, contact a church warden. | ||
| Sermon Series | ||
| Title: The Ministry of St Michael's, St James, and St John the Baptist | ||
| Aim: To show that this is also the basis of the ministry for each of us | ||
| 1 Geoff's Ministry 15th September. All at Benefice Service & 8.00am | ||
| 2 Our Ministry 13th October 8.00am & 10.00am Highworth | ||
| 27th October 10.30am Hannington | ||
| 17th November 6.00pm Sevenhampton | ||
| 3 Inclusive Ministry 20th October 8.00am & 10.00am Highworth | ||
| 3rd November 10.30am Hannington | ||
| 4 Community Ministry 17th November 8.00am & 10.00am Highworth | ||
| 5 Bible Ministry 24th November 8.00am & 10am Highworth | ||
| Other dates for Hannington and Sevenhampton are still to be arranged. | ||
It is a long time since we have had a series like this, please try to attend so that you get the whole picture. The sound team at Highworth will try to organise the recording of each sermon so that if you miss one you can still hear what was said. |
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| A brief outline of the sermons follows. A copy on cassette is available for loan, please have a word with Colin Gunn, or initially with Rosemary Castle our church administrator Tues - Fri 09.00 to 12 Noon, in the Church Room. | ||
| 1. New Ministry - series of 5 sermons (15.09.02) | ||
| Geoff’s
first sermon in his series was based on Colossians 1: 15-20 and entitled
‘Geoff’s Ministry’. The whole
service had me spellbound. From the beginning he kept referring us
to the Colossians reading and giving us bite-size ‘thoughts for the
day’ |
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| He
said this reading is the basis of the gospel and teaches us that Jesus
is everything. When we take our eyes off Him, then personal life and
materialism get in the way. Our modern culture lives for the ‘here and now’ and many don’t
even know that they need saving just like the passengers on the Titanic
when it first hit the iceberg. We are like the spokes in a bicycle
wheel which all lead to the centre hub - Christ. |
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| v
19 talks of God’s sufficiency - God is all that we need. |
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| v 20 is the reconciliation through Him alone. Many think they are not good enough to receive communion but it is through Christ’s forgiveness that we are made worthy. | ||
| This is the basis of Geoff’s ministry here amongst us. He said that the opportunities here in St. Michael’s are endless and our pews should be full. Geoff is not here to let us sit back and watch him do it - it is our ministry and we are in it together. | ||
| Hilary Fortnam | ||
| 2. Our Ministry - 2nd in the series of 5 sermons (13.10.02) | ||
| Rev
Geoff Sowden stated that his ministry is to equip people for their
own ministry in Christ. |
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| As
was said by St Paul, ‘To prepare God’s people for works of service
so that the body of Christ can be built up’.
The basis of this work is the Gospel of Hope in Jesus Christ.
Jesus has called all with hope to preach the Good News to all
Nations. |
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| Our
ministry is to share the Gospel with the people we meet in our daily
life and work. |
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| To
each of us grace has been given as Christ appointed it.
Ephesians 2 v8 –10. In working together as a team and working
to our strengths, we can build up the body of Jesus Christ using our
given gifts. |
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| WHY?
As His people we can build the body of Christ in Love, but we must
be sure that that love is the love of and in Jesus Christ.
Having received the love of Christ we want to share that love
with others, not out of a sense of duty or tradition or practice but
because Jesus wants our love out of his response of his love for us. |
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| HOW?
To serve others out of love.
By building the body of Christ in Love. |
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| St
John said, ‘Now that you know these things you will be blessed if
you do them’ |
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| 3. ‘Inclusive Ministry’, Colossians 10.23-11.1. - 3rd in the series of 5 sermons (20.10.02) | ||
| We all have preferences about the style of service we are comfortable with, we all have differing views about many issues; The key question about all these sorts of issues is not the fact that we all have differing approaches and views, but how we resolve those differences. And this is the subject of the third sermon in the series on my principles of ministry. | ||
| Paul’s view is expressed in verse 23, ‘Everything is permissible’, so in his day, yes you could eat meat sold in the market place. For us, examples might be, yes you could have modern music in all Church services, yes you can drink alcohol on Church premises, but it ‘may not be beneficial’ to do so, because not everyone will agree about this, and so in having what you want, you may well not help others, in fact you will probably offend them. | ||
| To insist on our preferences consistently then is the attitude that Paul is seeking to remove from the Church. This is the attitude that says, I come to Church worship and join in Church activities, to take from it what is helpful to me, and Paul is teaching here that our Christian life should not be about ‘taking’, but giving, about inclusivity to others. | ||
| If I remind you from last week of what ‘our ministry’ is, to Build up the Body of Christ, then we can all quickly see that an attitude of giving is absolutely crucial to this. An insistence of our rights, of our preferences is hardly going to build us up as the body of St Michael’s. Paul says in v33, that he tries to please everybody in every way | ||
| Geoff Sowden | ||
| 4. Community Ministry - 4th in the series of 5 sermons (17.11.02) | ||
| People are 'searching' often not aware, life up to now has been inadequate. These people that we should be encouraging to church, are they in church 'Now' is the church 'Full' of these people searching ------ the answer NO! So has our church become a a hard place to enter? | ||
| Donald Soper - We need to be where people are 'Not' where we want people to be! | ||
| We shouldn't raSt Paul stated - we are not trying to please man but God. Are Christians perceived as well meaning but rather ineffectual? anxious to please all the time?m the Gospel down peoples throats, people respond to a friend. As we encourage people to church, it is tempting to see them as: church fillers, getting people sat in pews, or perhaps as 'bill payers' additional people to help with the quota! but this is NOT what is required. | ||
| We can influence our friends and neighbours in our daily lives, across th desk, in the pub or over the garden fence. | ||
| Society is casting around for standards and values for a knowledge of the spiritual and security. | ||
| 'People want to know that we care BEFORE they care what we know. | ||
| So our ministry must be to love people, 'for who they are', 'where ever they are'. | ||
| Don Leonard | ||
| 5.Bible Ministry - 5th and last sermon in this series (24.11.02) | ||
| Geoff spoke about the relevance of the bible to peoples every day lives. There has been a gradual reduction in the reliance of the bible in modern day lives. | ||
| Do we 'literally' mean the word of God in our bible text's. YES - trust what you have first heard and learnt from the bible. | ||
| Read the bible 'To make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ'. | ||
| St Paul gives us two facts for life: | ||
| Firstly - 'the bible is God speaking'. | ||
| Secondly - It is God speaking (not in some general way) but specifically to you and me. | ||
| Hilary gave a moving personal testamony of her calling to God and to readership. 'He who calls you is faithful'. | ||
| Paul say's - God speaks to us through the scriptures. | ||
| Our ministry should not be about watching the vicar on a Sunday morning (from sermon 1) or taking in worship and activities (sermon 3) not about seeking primarily to maintain what we have. | ||
| It is about takong God into our communities, into our homes, into our work place and building each other up in him. | ||
| It is he who speaks to you and me through the pages of the scripture. Amen | ||
| Don Leonard. | ||
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