Sermon: Acts 2: 42-47 Devoted

School’s out for summer, and for some people, school’s out for ever. For most pupils, the seemingly endless school holidays will soon come to an end, and come the end of August, they’ll be back to the same school for another year. Some will have left their old school behind, but have the prospect of a new school - at the end of Primary School or Junior High. But some will have finished with school all together - both pupils and teachers. One of the words normally used about teachers is that they were devoted - and we know what that means. They were committed to educating their pupils; going above and beyond in the task.

Or think of some of the other times you’ll hear the word devoted. Speaking of someone as a devoted husband or wife, or a devoted parent. They’re all in, living out that relationship completely. Or think of a devoted sports fan - they’ll make sure to never miss a game; they’ll go to support the team; they’re devoted.

The question I want to ask you today is this - what would it look like for us to be devoted followers of Jesus?

You see, you could be a teacher, but not really care about the children, not be devoted. Some husbands and wives and parents are far from devoted. And some sports fans can be fair weather fans, only turning up if the weather’s good or the results are going well - not really devoted. And we might follow Jesus, but not be devoted in our following. So what would it look like for us to be devoted followers of Jesus?

This morning as we work our way through Acts, we come to this short summary of what it looked like in the early church to be a devoted follower of Jesus. Already in chapter 2, we’ve heard about the events of the Day of Pentecost, when the poured out, promised Spirit gave power to proclaim the prophesied Saviour. And as Peter preached about Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, about three thousand people accepted his message, were baptised, and added to their number.

So what happened next? They started the day with a group of about 120 believers, and now they’ve an extra three thousand, so what did they do? How did they organise themselves? What were their priorities? And what might that say to us about being devoted followers of Jesus?

Before we dive into the passage, though, perhaps we need an extra question to help us navigate not just this passage, but also the rest of Acts (and indeed, when reading any of the historical books of the Bible). And the question is this: Is what I’m reading descriptive or prescriptive? Or in other words, is this a description of what happened at that time, or is it a prescription, something we’re also to do. Descriptive or prescriptive?

So let’s dive in to verse 42. And straight away we come across the word of the day - devoted. We’re told there that ‘they’, that is, these believers ‘devoted themselves’ to four things: ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ (42)

It seems to me that this is the summary of the summary - that in this verse we have a description that is also prescriptive, the essentials that we need to be devoted to; and that the rest of the verses provide the description of how they went about it in those days immediately after Pentecost. As we work our way through each of these elements they were devoted to, we’ll see what that looked like for the first believers and think about what it might be like for us here and now.

So the first mark of devoted followers is that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. These new believers wanted to find out more about Jesus, and how he had saved them, and how to follow him. And who could they turn to? Who could they listen to? They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.

The apostles were the men chosen by Jesus, who had been taught by Jesus, and trained by Jesus, and who were witnesses of the risen Lord Jesus. We’ve already seen the apostles’ teaching in Acts 2, as Peter taught about Jesus.

And in verse 43, we see that the apostles’ teaching was being authenticated and verified by their actions: ‘Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.’ The signs are given to prove their message - to show that they are speaking the truth. But I think this is descriptive - after all, we don’t have any apostles now. But the prescriptive part is that we also devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching.

And how do we do that? We have it in the New Testament. The teaching of the apostles has been written down and preserved for us in the gospels, and Acts, and the letters. And their teaching is based on the Old Testament Scriptures, pointing to Jesus. So, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes from Joel and several Psalms in his sermon. The question is - are we devoted to the apostles' teaching? To reading, and understanding, and growing?

The second mark of devoted followers is that they devoted themselves to the fellowship. We’re used to hearing about youth fellowship, and we used to have ‘the fellowship’ on a Thursday night. And sometimes we reckon that if we have tea with a non-Christian then that’s friendship, but if we have tea with a Christian then it’s fellowship. but what is fellowship? And what is ‘the fellowship’?

Perhaps the best example of a fellowship is from Lord of the Rings. The three films are each over three hours long - the book is even longer. The first film is all about how a group of nine creatures (4 Hobbits, 2 men, 1 elf, 1 dwarf and 1 wizard) set out on a mission together to destroy the ring of power. They are ‘The Fellowship of the Ring.’ And so they are together, and help one another, and work together in this common purpose.

Do you see how that’s illustrated in verses 44-45? ‘All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.’ They’re in it together, working in partnership to help each other in this common purpose. Their fellowship means that they care for one another, and especially for those in need.

This wasn’t an early form of communism - it wasn’t enforced, it was voluntary; and not everyone had sold their houses as they continue to meet in them; but it is fellowship being worked out practically. We may not immediately go to sell everything we have as if this is prescriptive; but how devoted are we to one another, serving one another’s needs? Are we devoted to the fellowship of the believers?

The third mark of devoted followers is that they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. Now that might mean simply eating together - as we see in verse 46 - ‘They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.’ But it’s also pointing to THE breaking of bread - sharing in the Lord’s Supper / Communion / Eucharist together. [And there’s no need to hold them separate - in 1 Cor 11, the breaking of bread comes in the context of a fellowship meal.] They are devoted to remembering and celebrating the sacrifice of Jesus together as they break bread as he commanded, ‘in remembrance of me.’

We may not do it in the context of a meal here, but we regularly celebrate Communion together. Twice a month, we gather round the Lord’s Table, as we break bread and drink wine together. But are we devoted to it? It seems to be the case everywhere I’ve ministered, but the Communion services are always the poorest attended. And I’m wondering - why? Is it because it’s a slightly longer service? Or we’d be embarrassed if we didn’t go up to receive? If you have any wisdom, do let me know. I’d love to talk about it with you. Are we devoted to the breaking of bread?

The fourth and final mark of devoted followers is that they devoted themselves to prayer. Some versions suggest that it’s not just prayer in general - but ‘the prayers’ - as in a gathered time of prayer with others. This may have been in the temple, as we see in verse 46: ‘Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.’ There’s also the element of praising God in verse 47.

Are we committed, devoted even, to praying on our own, and as a church? Are there ways we could do it more, or better? As one small step, you’ll see on the notices sheet a prayer diary - one topic to pray for each day, that we can do together even if we’re not in the same place. Come the autumn we’ll have the Growth Groups and All Together starting up again - opportunities to meet together to grow and to pray.

What might it look like to be a devoted follower of Jesus? We’ll be devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, to prayer. It might not look exactly like how the early church did it, but it must include these four devotions. Is there one that you need to work on? One that you’ll focus on over the summer?

These first followers of Jesus were devoted disciples - and people were taking notice of their devotion. They ‘enjoyed the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ (47) May we be known as devoted disciples, and see the Lord adding to our number.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 30th June 2019.

Sermon: Mark 2: 13-17 Follow Me

If you could ask God one question, what would it be? That’s the question that’s asked at the beginning of the Christianity Explored course. And so participants come up with their questions for God, which will hopefully be answered through the seven-week course. As we dive back into Mark’s gospel after a break of almost a year, we discover that lots of people have lots of questions they want to ask Jesus.

So as you have the pew Bible open on page 1004, in Mark 2 there are four separate stories, four episodes, and each of them contains a question being asked of or about Jesus. In verse 7, the teachers of the law ask why Jesus is speaking blasphemy, claiming to be God, as he forgives sins. In a couple of weeks we’ll see verse 18 where there’s a question about the disciples not fasting, and then in verse 24, a question about why the disciples are breaking the Sabbath. Lots of questions for Jesus, all coming out of how people are reacting to his public ministry, and there’s another question in today’s reading.

It’s there in verse 16. ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and “sinners”?’ That’s the question that is on the lips of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees. They’re asking why Jesus is eating with tax collectors and “sinners” because that is exactly what Jesus is doing - and they can’t get their heads around it.

We’ll come back to the question itself shortly, but first we need to see the context, to see why the question was being asked. As verse 13 opens, and Mark tells the story of Jesus, you wonder what is going to happen next. When you know the stories of Jesus, you’re aware of the possibilities. ‘Once again Jesus went out beside the lake.’ And you think to yourself - is this when he walks on water? is this when he goes in a boat and calms the storm? But this isn’t either of those times. They’ll come later on in the gospel.

Verse 13 continues, ‘A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.’ So, you might be expecting to hear what it was that Jesus was teaching them that day. We’ll maybe hear a parable or two. But again, that’s not what Mark is going to tell us about that day. It’s in verse 14 that we see what Mark is focusing in on:

‘As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.’

Jesus has a large crowd with him. There are loads of people around him. But Jesus is focused on this guy, Levi, sitting at his place of work. He wasn’t making jeans, he was... a tax collector.

Nobody really likes tax collectors. Oh, and by the way, a little public service reminder - if you do your Self-Assessment Tax Return, then you need to have it in and any tax paid by the end of January. But if you think that people don’t really like tax collectors now, people in New Testament times really didn’t like tax collectors.

You see, to be a tax collector then meant that you were working for the enemy. The Roman Empire were in charge, they had invaded and captured the land, but they employed locals to collect the taxes. So to be a tax collector you were a traitor. And you were probably on the take - charging whatever you could get away with, making a profit on the side.

Levi was... a tax collector. He was busy at his work when suddenly Jesus walks up to him and says, ‘Follow me.’ Jesus had said the same to the fishing brothers, Simon and Andrew, James and John back in chapter 1. And they had done what Levi does here. ‘Levi got up and followed him.’

His tax collecting days are over. From this day on, he will follow Jesus, because Jesus has called him to follow him. Notice it wasn’t that Levi saw Jesus, and Levi decided he would go up to Jesus and follow him. No, it’s Jesus that takes the initiative; Jesus that issues the call; and Levi follows.

In verse 15, the scene has shifted. We’re no longer on the road. We’re in Levi’s house. Jesus is having dinner with Levi, but it’s not just the two of them. The guest list is a lot bigger. I imagine that it’s a bit like a big family dinner, you know, when the dining table is fully extended, and people are sitting on the normal chairs, the emergency spare chairs, the piano stool and anything else that means someone can sit at the dining table.

There’s Jesus and his disciples. And there’s Levi. And then there’s all the others who are invited to dinner. The ‘many tax collectors and “sinners” who were eating with him. A big dinner party. Perhaps you’ve thought about the question - if you could invite any three people, living or dead, to a dinner party, who would you invite? When people think of who they would have, it’s always famous people, their heroes, people like Winston Churchill or ... No one would want to have Levi and Jesus’ dining companions.

Do you see the way tax collectors and sinners go together? We see that three times in verses 15-16. Tax collectors were seen as outcasts, beyond the pale, but so too were sinners. These were people who everyone knew were bad, who didn’t bother to try to keep the religious rules. Tax collectors and sinners were regarded as bad as each other.

They weren’t up to the religious standards of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. The Pharisees looked down their noses at them. And so, in verse 16, when the Pharisees see Jesus eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they ask that question: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’

To eat with someone was to recognise them in friendship and partnership. So to eat with tax collectors and sinners was for Jesus to say that he was at ease with them, regarded them as friends. It was simply unthinkable to the religious Pharisees.

The question is asked of the disciples, but it’s Jesus who answers the question. He says: ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.’ (17)

Imagine that you call into the Health Centre tomorrow morning. Or, you try to get in, but there’s a huge crowd of people, all waiting to see the doctor. And, as you wait, you look around, and can’t seem to see anything wrong with the people in the queue. There isn’t anyone coughing or sneezing repeatedly. There are no obvious signs of anyone being ill. So you pluck up the courage, and start chatting to the person next to you. What are you here for? And the man says, Me, oh, I’m feeling really healthy today, in tip top condition. I’m just going to have a wee chat with the doctor about football. And the lady on the other side of you, she says, I’ve never felt better! I’m in perfect health. I’m wanting to talk about where I should go on holidays.

What would you want to say to them? You’re wasting the doctor’s time! They’re not here for you to come and socialise if you’re healthy! There are sick people they need to see. If you’re healthy, then you don’t need the doctor - not when there are sick people.

Isn’t that what Jesus is saying here? He makes the same contrast in two different ways. There’s the contrast between healthy people and sick people. And there’s the contrast between righteous people and sinners.

Just as it’s the sick people who need the doctor, so it’s the sinners who need the Saviour. This is the reason why Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners. They know they’re sick with sin, and they know they need a Saviour. Did you notice in verse 15, at the end of the verse, ‘for there were many who followed him.’ Levi was one, but there were many other tax collectors and sinners who followed Jesus. They knew they needed Jesus, and they were glad to follow him.

So if the tax collectors and sinners are the ‘sick’ who need a doctor, who are the healthy people, the righteous? It’s clear that Jesus is saying that the Pharisees think that they’re healthy, think that they’re righteous (in right standing with God), and therefore don’t need Jesus. They thought that they were ok by themselves and their efforts.

And maybe today, you find yourself with the Pharisees? You try hard to keep the rules. You try hard to never miss church. You think that you’re righteous. The truth is, though, that none of us are righteous by ourselves. None of us can earn our way. We all fall short of God’s glory, in so many different ways. We are all sin-sick, needing a Saviour.

The good news is that that’s why Jesus came. He didn’t come to call the righteous; he came to call sinners. He came to call Levi, and the other tax collectors and sinners. And he came to call you, and me.

Will you hear his voice? Will you follow him?

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 13th January 2019.

Sermon: Luke 17: 1-19 Increase our Faith

I wonder if you’ve got a drawer or a cupboard like the one we have in ours. In it, you’ll find all sorts of random bits and pieces. A key for a lock you don’t even have now. Some string. A few batteries which might not have any power in them. Phone chargers and cables. The comedian Michael McIntyre talks about it as a ‘man drawer’. You never know when you might need it, so you put it there, along with all the other potentially useful but slightly random items.

At first glimpse, it looks like our chapter this morning is Luke’s man drawer as he writes his gospel. Random bits and pieces about sin, forgiveness, faith, duty and so on, so he throws them all in here. Maybe useful some time, but not entirely sure what to do with them. That’s what I was thinking, until I remembered Luke’s express purpose, as he says at the start of his gospel. He is writing ‘an orderly account.’ So how do they fit together?

The key moment seems to be the request of the disciples in verse 5. Maybe as you come to church today, it’s the cry of your heart as well. You’re following Jesus, but you feel that it’s not always easy. You feel like you need his help. You feel like you need more. Do you see what they say? ‘Increase our faith!’ We have faith, but give us more, help us to trust you more. This morning, as we work through the passage, remember that request: Increase our faith! What prompts it? How does Jesus respond? And what might it look like?

So what prompts it? What is it that makes the apostles say to Jesus ‘Increase our faith’? It’s something that Jesus says about sin. Or rather, two things, almost equal and opposite, about sin.

Verse 1: ‘Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come.’ Don’t be the cause of someone else’s sin. Don’t be the one to lead someone else astray. Here’s how serious it is - Jesus says it would be better to have a millstone hung round your neck and be thrown into the sea.

You see, we’re not Christians in isolation. We’re part of the body, we’re responsible for one another - we are our brother’s keeper. Now that might be hard enough, but the next thing Jesus says is even harder. Verse 3: ‘Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent”, you must forgive him.’

Don’t be the cause of other people’s sin; and don’t hold their sin against them. Forgive when they repent. Forgive every time they repent. Now when he says seven times that doesn’t mean you count, and the eighth time you don’t have to forgive. Jesus is saying as many times as they repent, forgive them. Are you ready to forgive?

No wonder the apostles say ‘Increase our faith!’ This isn’t easy. That’s what they’re saying - Lord, if you want us to do this, then we need your help. Increase our faith. Give us more faith to be able to do these hard things.

But look at how Jesus replies. ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.’ The mulberry tree was seen as the hardest of trees to move. It was thought that the root would remain in the ground for 600 years, it was so firmly rooted. So how much faith would it take to do the seemingly impossible? Buckets of faith? Oceans of faith? No, faith like a grain of mustard seed. A teeny tiny seed, you would hardly see.

It’s not that you need loads and loads of faith. You just need to have faith in God. As one writer has said: ‘If there is real faith, then effects follow. It is not so much great faith in God that is required as faith in a great God.’ (cf Leon Morris).

Having even a small amount of faith in God is enough to see miracles happen. It’s only a mustard seed of faith that’s needed to be born again, enough to be guaranteed the hope of eternal life. To stop trusting in yourself, and to start trusting in Jesus, that’s enough to see amazing things happen.

But when we do trust, and we do see amazing things happen; as our faith grows, and we see God working in our lives, we can’t take the credit for it. That’s what Jesus goes on to say in this story of the servant.

Verse 7: ‘Will any one of you who has a servant ploughing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Does the master become the waiter for the servant? The obvious answer in the culture is no! The servant serves, makes sure the master is fed and watered before he sees to himself. But if the servant does what is required, then he doesn’t need thanked. He’s just done his job. He has obeyed his orders.

Jesus says that we are God’s servants; that we are under his command; that ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ We may see amazing things as we step out in faith. We may see lives changed, but at the end of the day, we’re only doing what God told us to do. We don’t deserve to be part of his plans. It’s all by grace that he chooses to use any of us.

The disciples wanted Jesus to increase their faith. He was calling them to hard things - not leading other people to sin, and forgiving other people’s sins. But Jesus says you don’t need big faith, just small faith in a big God is enough. And then Luke tells us about something that happened on the way. Something that shows us how much faith is needed.

Jesus is entering a village when ten lepers stand at a distance and shout at him. Leprosy in those days was a life sentence. You were unclean, cut off from normal family life, living with other lepers on the edge of society. They see Jesus and shout at him: ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’

Jesus tells them to ‘go and show yourselves to the priests.’ The priests had a public health role as well; they were the people who could certify healing from leprosy. And as the ten set off, they were cleansed. The rest continue, but only one turned back, praising God with a loud voice; falling at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan!

Ten were cleansed, but only one said thank you. Ten were healed of leprosy, but only one heard the closing words of Jesus. As you look at them, you might find them familiar. These are the same words Jesus spoke to the sinful woman in Simon the Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:50) and the woman with the discharge of blood (Luke 8:48). They’re words which show that even a little faith, faith as small as a mustard seed, is saving faith.

Jesus says: ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’ The footnote says that this also means ‘Your faith has saved you.’ As you come to the Lord’s table today, you don’t need to have gallons of faith. But you do need to have faith. Even a mustard seed is enough to be assured of sins forgiven, to have heaven as your home, and to see God use you in the here and now to do his purposes, to do the impossible, as he changes us and makes us more like Jesus. As you cry out to him ‘Increase our faith’, hear his word that your faith has saved you, even if it’s as small as a mustard seed.

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 7th February 2016.

Sermon: Luke 14: 25-35 Count the Cost

This morning I want to start by finding out a little bit about you, everyone in church this morning. I’ve got a little quickfire quiz, to see what you like or don’t like. It’s very simple - I’ll give you two options, if you like the first, stand up, and if the second, sit down. Here we go:

1 Ice cream or custard?
2 Going by boat or going by plane?
3 Mashed spuds or chips?
4 Chocolate or crisps?
5 Liverpool or Manchester United?

We all know each other a little bit better now - some of the questions might have been hard to decide. Some might have been really easy to decide. You like one, and don’t like the other. You know which one you would put in first place.

Today in our Bible reading, that’s what Jesus wants us to do as well - to put something or someone in first place. Now I don’t know about you, but when ... read the passage, were you shocked by what you heard? Jesus says something that is really hard to understand. Look at verse 26. ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple.’

Jesus wants us to hate people? Hate the people who are closest to us? Mum and dad, brothers and sisters, husband or wife and kids? Really? Hate? That’s such a strong word. Maybe you’ve heard that shouted at you - I hate you! Or maybe you’ve shouted it yourself...

Is this really what Jesus said? He wants us to hate people? Jesus, who shows us God’s love? Jesus, who loves us? To quote those well known philosophers, Will I Am and the Black Eye Peas - where is the love?

But Luke helps us to understand what Jesus means. Verse 25 sets the scene for what Jesus says. ‘Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said...’ There’s a big crowd following Jesus. It looks great. Lots of people wanting to be with him. But Jesus says what they need to do to follow him.

You see, Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. He’s going up to die on the cross. He knows this already. From chapter 9 he has set his face to go to Jerusalem, and now we’re in ch 14. He knows what is in front of him, so he wants the crowd to know as well. He doesn’t want to have thousands of half-interested people going along for the craic. He wants followers, disciples, people who are committed 100%.

Think back to the quiz we did at the start. You had two options, and you had to pick which one you liked the best. Maybe you liked both, but had to choose one. The Jews had a way of speaking that to make a choice, you hated the one you didn’t choose. It’s a way of showing what is Number One in your life. Jesus isn’t saying hate people, especially your family. He’s saying ‘put me at number one - be committed to following me.’

This isn’t always easy. Following Jesus never is. Because Jesus goes on to say what else you have to do as you follow him. ‘And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.’ Now Jesus isn’t saying that we should get two bits of wood and make a cross and carry it around with us. What he means is to follow him, to give up our own wants, and to follow him.

He’s telling the crowd who are half-interested and wanting to see a miracle that it’s difficult. He says that they need to count the cost, to weigh it up, to make a careful decision before they commit. Are they really ready to follow him, with all it means? Are we ready to follow Jesus and keep on following Jesus? Jesus gives us two pictures of what it means to follow him.

The first, is a man building a tower. I’m going to build a tower right now. The biggest tower of Jenga bricks you’ve ever seen. It’ll be so big that I might even live in it. Maybe I could get my picture in the Impartial Reporter as the minister building a tower inside the church to live in it. So let’s get started. That’s the first bit of wall done... oh. I’ve run out of bricks. I can’t afford to finish it. What would happen when people saw it in the paper and heard what happened? They would laugh at me! They’d think I was silly.

Jesus says to be sure that when you start to follow him that you’ll keep going, that you’ll be able to do it. Otherwise it’ll be like that tower that was started, and everyone laughs at him.

The second picture is a king. Have we a king? He wants to go to war with another king. Have we a second king? King 1 has ten thousand; He has to decide if that’s enough to go against King 2’s twenty thousand. Are you willing to keep going even when things are against you? Even when you’re outnumbered?

Jesus says to count the cost. To make sure you’re ready and able and willing to follow him. It’s not easy, but it is worth it. You see, Jesus had already counted the cost to him. Remember where he is, and where he is going. He is on the way to the cross. He has counted the cost, and decided that it is worth it to die on the cross in order to save us, to bring us to heaven, to have us with him for all eternity.

Because Jesus gave up his all for us, it’s easy for us to give up things to put him in Number One, to follow him. He helps us as we follow. He wants us to follow him. But we need to count the cost, to decide if we’re ready to follow.

I’ve brought with me something from our table. What’s inside? Salt. Now I know it’s bad for you, but sometimes you need a wee bit of salt to add flavour to potatoes or whatever you’re eating. But it’s only good if it’s actually salt. If I put this on my dinner today and it’s just what stones painted white, it wouldn’t be very nice. I wouldn’t be able to eat my dinner. I’d have to throw the ‘salt’ away. Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth, to add flavour. But if we turn back, if we realise the cost is too much, if we stop following him, then the salt will lose its saltiness. It’ll just be white stones.

Jesus wants us to follow him, to put him number one. It’s worth it, because he is worth it. He counted the cost and came to save us. He calls us to count the cost, and follow him. Let’s pray.

This sermon was preached at the Church Family Service in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 17th January 2016.