Repairing Relationships

Posted by Hugh on Feb 27, 2010 in Sermons/Talks | 1 comment

I preached last Sunday night… we’re still in Proverbs… preaching it thematically…

I got the topic of Repairing Relationships… which is ironic at best. But it was good to use lots of resources collected on the topic of Forgiveness, lots of Keller influence who’s just very helpful at explaining and applying the Proverbs…

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The Power of Words

Posted by Hugh on Dec 22, 2009 in Church, Sermons/Talks | 1 comment

We’re preaching through Proverbs at church… we did 1-9 expositionally and now we’re doing the rest thematically. I got to kick this off with the theme of Words. Most of the thinking is gleaned from Tim Keller… he’s pretty helpful.

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Talk Notes (doc)

Rich and Poor

Posted by Hugh on Dec 14, 2009 in Grace, Sermons/Talks | 0 comments

About 10 days ago I spoke at an International Carol Service… a traditional English Carol Service put on for the local international students with an evangelistic message.

I spoke on 2 Corinthians 8:9  -  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”

• Jesus was rich before His birth, but chose to became poor
• We are poor and need to become rich
• Jesus became poor so that we might become rich

Points shamelessly stolen from Christopher Ash, but the talk is mine.

Talk notes (doc)

John 16 – Sin Righteousness Judgement

Posted by Hugh on Dec 8, 2009 in Sermons/Talks | 1 comment

Last week I was preaching at church on John 16:5-16

I was looking at the Convicting and Attracting work of the Holy Spirit.

You can listen to the talk here (mp3)

You can get my talk notes here (doc)

Curry Night Jokes

Posted by Hugh on Dec 3, 2009 in Church, Sermons/Talks | 1 comment

Last night I spoke at an evangelistic curry night for our church 20s group… it’s always good to get rid of the awkwardness of doing a talk in a restaurant… a good way to do this is with a joke… here are my best three curry night jokes (courtesy of my friends Martin and Simon):

Joke 1:

So I had the Chicken Tarka tonight… it’s a new dish, similar to the Chicken Tikka, but a little ‘otter

Joke 2:

I phoned up here last night… I said do you de-liver… they said no, just chicken and lamb

Joke 3:

The waiter came over, said “Curry – oke”? I said not tonight, don’t fancy singing!

Corrie Ten Boom on Forgiveness

Posted by Hugh on Nov 20, 2009 in Grace, Sermons/Talks | 0 comments

I’ve speaking at BSMS CU on Monday, that’s the Brighton and Sussex Medical School Christian Union to you… they’re studying parables at the moment, and have been asked to speak on Matthew 18, the parable of the Unmerciful Servant.

Fortunately, I’ve already preached on this, earlier in the year, so have most of the talk ready. But I’ve been listening to some Tim Keller to help stimulate my thoughts afresh… by well of illustration he uses the story of Corrie Ten Boom, put in a concentration camp by the Nazis for sheltering Jewish refugees. She tells this story about forgiveness in her book ‘The Hiding Place‘:

It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” he said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!”

His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.