Bit Parts, Curious Characters and Great Stories
Balaam and the talking donkey
More resources to download:
This sermon was part of a Pet Blessing service
Numbers 22 is a great story to read as a Dramatic Reading
We are today talking about the animals, and their importance in God’s creation and in our lives. And this is actually an enormous topic and one that we must come back to again. But for now, let’s stay with Balaam’s donkey and listen to what he has to say, because it’s not often that what animals are saying to us gets translated so bluntly into human language. I mean, those of us with pets know mostly what they are saying to us
but even though Balaam had known this donkey for years and years he really didn’t get what the donkey was trying to say. So God gave the donkey a helping hand, the power of human speech, for just a couple of minutes. Apparently. Or perhaps God gave Balaam the power to understand the braying of the donkey. Either way, they understood each other and that is one of the things that the Spirit of God does, helping us to hear and understand each other. Praise God for that.
But I wonder if we can stretch this story out a bit, or maybe quite a lot, so that the donkey might stand-in for all of the created world. Do you think perhaps that this donkey might speak for all donkeys, all animals in fact?
More resources to download:
This sermon was part of a Pet Blessing service
Numbers 22 is a great story to read as a Dramatic Reading
We are today talking about the animals, and their importance in God’s creation and in our lives. And this is actually an enormous topic and one that we must come back to again. But for now, let’s stay with Balaam’s donkey and listen to what he has to say, because it’s not often that what animals are saying to us gets translated so bluntly into human language. I mean, those of us with pets know mostly what they are saying to us
but even though Balaam had known this donkey for years and years he really didn’t get what the donkey was trying to say. So God gave the donkey a helping hand, the power of human speech, for just a couple of minutes. Apparently. Or perhaps God gave Balaam the power to understand the braying of the donkey. Either way, they understood each other and that is one of the things that the Spirit of God does, helping us to hear and understand each other. Praise God for that.
But I wonder if we can stretch this story out a bit, or maybe quite a lot, so that the donkey might stand-in for all of the created world. Do you think perhaps that this donkey might speak for all donkeys, all animals in fact?
John the Baptist Part 1: John the man
What got into a young man, trained for Temple priesthood, to go off into the wilderness for years? Why was he so popular? Where did he get that 'baptism' idea from anyway??
I tend not to focus heavily on guilt and confession, but there is a vital place for that – not to make ourselves feel guilty for the sake of it, but to shove us out of stuckness, to invite us into new freedom …
Hear again the voice of God saying ‘Stop!’ ‘Turn around, you’re going the wrong way!” Turn to Christ again and be set free.
What got into a young man, trained for Temple priesthood, to go off into the wilderness for years? Why was he so popular? Where did he get that 'baptism' idea from anyway??
I tend not to focus heavily on guilt and confession, but there is a vital place for that – not to make ourselves feel guilty for the sake of it, but to shove us out of stuckness, to invite us into new freedom …
Hear again the voice of God saying ‘Stop!’ ‘Turn around, you’re going the wrong way!” Turn to Christ again and be set free.
John the Baptist Part 2: Jesus baptised
John had high hopes for Jesus. John saw, through the Holy Spirit, the intimacy between Jesus and the Father. John knew that Jesus was the One that he had been waiting for, that Israel had been waiting for. What a thrill for John! He had come! and it was his cousin Jesus, of all people!
BUT ... John become disillusioned with Jesus. How did Jesus fail to live up to John's high hopes?
This is a tricky but important question, which is vital to the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
In this sermon I discuss it using John's metaphor of the 'threshing floor'.
John had high hopes for Jesus. John saw, through the Holy Spirit, the intimacy between Jesus and the Father. John knew that Jesus was the One that he had been waiting for, that Israel had been waiting for. What a thrill for John! He had come! and it was his cousin Jesus, of all people!
BUT ... John become disillusioned with Jesus. How did Jesus fail to live up to John's high hopes?
This is a tricky but important question, which is vital to the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
In this sermon I discuss it using John's metaphor of the 'threshing floor'.
St Helena and the importance of historical place in Israel
Read about the Turkish barmaid who became Empress of the world, and the extraordinary role she played in the history of Israel.
Which gets us to Constantine:
The events I have described in my story this morning marked a dramatic change: the Church of Jesus Christ went, within just a few decades, from being a persecuted minority to being the official religion of empire. From being banned, illegal and hunted the church gained power, wealth and status. In our time this process is being reversed. The church in much of the world is losing its power, wealth and status and increasingly Christians are being persecuted, attacked or ignored.
Read about the Turkish barmaid who became Empress of the world, and the extraordinary role she played in the history of Israel.
Which gets us to Constantine:
The events I have described in my story this morning marked a dramatic change: the Church of Jesus Christ went, within just a few decades, from being a persecuted minority to being the official religion of empire. From being banned, illegal and hunted the church gained power, wealth and status. In our time this process is being reversed. The church in much of the world is losing its power, wealth and status and increasingly Christians are being persecuted, attacked or ignored.