And now  these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ( 1 Corinthians 13:13)

Introduction

When I was a child of about ten in Junior School we used to sing this hymn in assembly:

Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost,
Taught by Thee we covet most
Of Thy gifts of Pentecost
Holy, heavenly Love.

Faith, that mountains could remove,
Tongues of earth or heaven above,
Knowledge—all things—empty prove,
Without heavenly Love.

Though I as a martyr bleed,
Give my goods the poor to feed,
All is vain—if Love I need;
Therefore, give us Love.

(Christopher Wordsworth.)

Every verse of that hymn ends with the word love and I can remember thinking, as a ten year old boy, that this was all very soppy and girly.  After all, ten-year old boys don’t talk about love and emotions! But one day I suddenly realized; “It’s not love in that sense – romantic  love – it’s love in the Christian sense. That’s alright then.” And so, at the age of ten, I realized that there is difference between romantic love and Christian love.

Indeed in 1 Corinthians 13, the Greek word Paul uses for love is Agapé, which is never used for romantic love or sexual love.
Agapé love

Part of the trouble is that we have only one word for love in English, and that can mean a variety of things. It can be anything from soppy sentimentality, to the yearning of a mother for her child,  right through to raunchy sensuality. People use the word “love” when they really mean “sex”, as in the expression “to make love” which nowadays is a euphemism for sexual intercourse. On a completely different level you can say you love your country,  or you love music or even that you love pizza! There are so  many meanings to the one word “love”.

So let’s get it clear that we are only talking about Christian love today – Agapé.

This kind of love is called charity in the King James Bible, but in modern English the word “charity” usually means giving to good causes. So let’s stick with the word love – but remember, it’s God’s love we are talking about.

It has three directions:

·  the love God has for us
·  the love we have for him
·  the love we have for one another, which is inspired by his love for us
We think of Christmas as a time of love, peace and goodwill towards all people. It’s meant to be a time of love within families, is is it not? But it isn’t always so. In fact, many people are miserable over the Christmas period.

Here is a version of  1 Corinthians 13 which gives a new twist to it:

1 Corinthians 13 – The Christmas Version

 If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas puddings, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn’t yell at the children to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Computer games will break, cashmere jumpers will wear out, golf clubs
will get lost. But the gift of love will endure.

 Love incarnate

But why do we think of Christmas as the time for peace, love and goodwill? Is it not because it is the celebration of the Incarnation – the coming of God into our world.  God is love – he has shown us this by coming into our world in the person of his Son, by living, suffering and by dying on the cross. Jesus, God’s Son made the ultimate sacrifice so that he could win us back to himself.

In his letter to the Philippians Paul marvels at the sacrifice Jesus made:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
(Philippians 2:5-8)

This truth of God’s love shown to us in the coming of Christ is beautifully expressed in this poem by  Christina Rossetti,  which is sometimes sung as a Christmas carol:

Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas:
star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
love incarnate, love divine;
worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith the sacred sign?

Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and to all men,
love for plea and gift and sign.

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

“Love shall be our token – love to God  and to all men” – and these are the two other directions of God’s love. The first is Gods love for us. But then there is our love for God (the second direction) and the third one is our love for others.
Our love

Just think about them for a moment, these  directions of love are linked together. John in his First Epistle, tells us that God’s love is the inspiration for us to love others.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.    This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
( 1 John 4:7-12  )

And love for others is not a sentimental thing. It’s not primarily a matter of emotions. First and foremost it is a matter of will. It is choosing to do the right  thing by other people – it is seeking their welfare and not just  your own. Love has to be tough sometimes – every mother and father knows that – but it never ceases to be love.

Love shows itself in practical ways:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.  ( 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 )

 
Humanly impossible

To even begin to demonstrate this we need the hand of God upon our lives. We need his grace and the indwelling of his Spirit. Of our own strength we don’t have this ability. We can’t love God as he deserves to be loved – that is, with all our heart and strength and mind. Nor do be have the ability to love our neighbour as he or she deserves to be loved – that is, as we love ourselves.

We just don’t have it in us – it is impossible, humanly speaking, to love in this way. Thank God that he is not limited to what is humanly possible!

The world says: “Surely self interest comes first – charity begins at home. When you have served your own interests you might then have a little love left over for others.” Thank God that he is not limited to what the world thinks possible!

You see, Christ turns it all upside-down. He says: “Put God first, then other people, and only then consider yourself.”  It’s only by grace that anyone is able to love in this way but Christians do,  to a greater or lesser degree.  We all fail in Christian love on so many occasions – but God is merciful and forgives us when we are sorry.
 With all our imperfections we can still experience something of the faith, hope and love of Christ this Advent season.
Conclusion

There’s a computer virus going round – slightly differentfrom the usual kind:-

WARNING……WARNING: ADVENT VIRUS

Be on the alert for symptoms of inner Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to this virus and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of The Advent Virus:

·  A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
·  An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
·  A loss of interest in judging other people.
·  A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
·  A loss of interest in conflict.
·  A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
·  Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
·  Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
·  Frequent attacks of smiling.
·  An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
·  An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Please send this warning out to all your friends. This virus can and has affected many systems. Some systems have been completely cleaned out because of it.
       (Anonymous)

I hope you all get the Advent Virus of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love!

.

Introduction

You may or may not know that the official title of our denomination is the Calvinistic Methodist or Presbyterian Church of Wales. On the English-speaking side of our Connexion we tend to use the term Presbyterian, but on the Welsh-speaking side the term Calvinistic Methodist is still often used. In Welsh “Calvinistic Methodism” is translated as Methodistiaeth Galfinaidd – or “Galvanized Methodists” as one elderly Welsh lady called them in English! (Oh, that we were indeed galvanized Methodists – electrified into action by the power of the Holy Spirit! ) But we are, in fact, Calvinist, not galvanized Methodists.

All Presbyterian churches are Calvinist (in name at least, if not always in doctrine). It was Calvin who first set up the Presbyterian system of church government in Geneva, with the church controlled by a group of elders rather than just one minister or priest.

Another word which is used as a synonym for Calvinist or Presbyterian is “Reformed” – as in Dutch Reformed Church, or United Reformed Church. Our Presbyterian churches sprang out of the Reformation, and in particular the Calvinistic Reformation centred in Geneva . (How we, in Wales, came also to be Methodists is another story, for another day! )

500 years of Calvinism

But why am I talking about Calvinism and Presbyterianism? Well on the 10th July 1509 John Calvin was born. That means that two weeks ago we celebrated his 500th. anniversary.

 [ For information about Calvin's life may I recommend the article in the July Treasury by by Rev. Dr Eifion Evans. http://www.ebc Presbyterian Church of Wales.org.uk/en/publications/treasury/09-07-01.pdf ]

Last year I gave a sermon on Luther and the Reformation, so we can’t let Calvin’s anniversary go by without reference to him also. He was just as important as Luther – although perhaps he does not feature so much in the public mind. This is partly because Calvin was a self-effacing man. He was also rather reserved and perhaps a bit distant in his manner. (Luther, on the other hand was very much a man of the people, even a bit crude at times, he was quick tempered and had a pretty interesting and eventful life.) Calvin’s life was less exiting to read about.

But Calvin was a man of influence, whose thinking has tremendously influenced our modern world. We have heard a lot about Charles Darwin over the last few months as the media have been celebrating his 200th anniversary. There is no doubt that Darwin is a highly significant figure, and worth commemorating. He has changed the whole aspect of biological sciences. But what about Calvin? I don’t recall seeing even one television programme about him, yet Calvin’s influence has spread far wider than even Darwin’s.

Calvinism has greatly shaped our modern world. The early Pilgrim Fathers and most of the first settlers in America were Calvinists – either Puritans, or Dutch Reformed Church, or Scots-Irish Presbyterians. The so-called Protestant work-ethic ( by which we mean largely, Calvinist, work-ethic) has made possible the Industrial Revolution and the commercial success of Britain as a nation.

Modern science and technology owes a great deal to Protestant influence. Where would science be if we still had to look to the Pope to tell us whether or not the Earth went around the Sun. Galileo was persecuted by the Catholic Church of his time. He wouldn’t have had that problem had he been a Calvinist! ( Galileo was born in 1564 – the year in which Calvin died.) There might not have been modern scientific advance without the Reformation.

Yes, Calvin has been very influential but the world takes very little notice and generally ignores Calvin. I did an Internet search for Calvin and came up with:

· Calvin and Hobbes, the cartoon characters

· Calvin Klein, the underwear designer

· and finally, John Calvin the reformer.

 And when the world does take note of Calvinism it is usually in a hostile way. The stereotypical view is of the dour Wee Free in the Highlands of Scotland or the bigoted Ulster Protestant. The word Calvinist, to most people, suggests someone who wants to stop you enjoying yourself.

So is this true? What was Calvin really like?

Is it possible to be a moderate Calvinist?

Can you be a Calvinist and enjoy yourself?

 Is Calvinism relevant to the modern world?

I shall attempt to address some of these questions now. In doing so I know that many of you were not brought up as Presbyterians. You come from Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, Roman Catholic, or Pentecostal backgrounds. You may not feel that you are Calvinists.

The same could be said of many who were brought up in our Connexion. As a denomination we have never made a great deal about being Calvinists, and most members of the Presbyterian Church of Wales probably would not be able to say much about Calvinist theology.

So first of all, an outline of his life:

John Calvin

John Calvin (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564), né Jean Cauvin, was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of his seminal work Institutes of the Christian Religion. In that year, Calvin was invited by William Farel to help reform the church in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of Calvin and Farel’s ideas, and both men were expelled. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg, where he became the minister of a church of French refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and was eventually invited back to lead its church. Following his return, he introduced new forms of church government and liturgy, despite the opposition of several powerful families in the city who tried to curb his authority. (Wikipedia)

What did Calvin believe?

The priesthood of all believers

Calvin believed that all Christian believers have access to God through Jesus Christ, without having to go through a priest.

The Presbyterian system

He believed that the local church should be run by a group of elders who are all equal in status. One of the elders is the minister who has special role of teaching and pastoral care. This is the Presbyterian system of church government. There is no hierarchy as there is in the Episcopal churches. Ministers, officers, elders and members are all equal in status – they just have different roles with regard to leadership.

There are no bishops. In the Presbyterian Church of Wales, for example, we have a Moderator and we also have a General Secretary – but in no way do I regard either of these people as my boss! We are equal in status.

God’s grace and man’s depravity

Calvin believed in the grace of God and in the complete sinfulness of human nature. Without God’s grace there is no way we can please God. Human beings are made in the image of God, but that image was spoilt by sin. We are unable to find God by their own effort, we need God’s grace in the first place to even begin to seek him. We can not reach up to God by our own effort – he has to reach down to us to raise us up.

Election and predestination

Calvin believed in the sovereignty of God and in the eternal security of those who believe truly in Jesus. Like the Apostle Paul Calvin believed in predestination and the election of those who believe.

( Romans 8: 28 – 30 ) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

This is a very knotty and controversial topic which I do not intend to go into now. Suffice to say that it is found in the Bible, in the writings of Paul, and that it requires quite a lot of theological and philosophical subtlety to discuss this topic in a way which is not over simplistic.

The Great Exchange

These are some of the themes that Calvin and the Calvinists stressed but what was at the very centre of Calvin’s faith may be seen in these words:

“This is the wonderful exchange which, out of his measureless benevolence, He has made with us;

· that, becoming Son of man with us, He has made us sons of God with Him;

· that, by His descent to earth, He has prepared an ascent to heaven for us;

· that, by taking on our mortality, he has conferred His immortality upon us;

· that, accepting our weakness, He has strengthened us by His power;

· that, receiving our poverty into Himself, He has transferred His wealth to us;

· that,taking the weight of our iniquity upon Himself (which oppressed us), He has clothed us with His righteousness.”

Conclusion

If you were to ask me “Are you a Calvinist?” I would say, “Yes, but a Christian first. Then a Calvinist, then a member of the Presbyterian Church of Wales if you were to ask me, “Do you believe everything Calvin taught?” Then I would have to say, “No”. And that is true probably of most Presbyterian Church of Wales ministers. For Calvin, and for us, the most important thing is to be a Christian, a follower of Christ.

[Sermon preached at the Brecon Presbyrian Church, 19th. July 2009 ]

Talk given at  Brecon Scouts St George’s Day Service 2009

No doubt all you scouts, cubs and beavers know the story of Saint George and the dragon. He’s the Patron Saint of England, but the English don’t pay as much attention to him as the Welsh, Scots and Irish do to their patron saints!
St. George is also the patron saint of Aragon, Catalonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal,  Russia and Serbia. And, of course, of the Scout Movement.
A lot of the stories about George were made up in the Middle Ages – especially the one about him slaying the dragon.
What do we know about him historically?

The story of George

George was a Roman soldier who lived at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth century. He was born and brought up in Lydda in Palestine, but he served as a soldier in Asia Minor ( modern day Turkey). George was a very good soldier and he rose to become an officer in the bodyguard of the Emperor Diocletian.

George was a Christian, and there were many other Christians in the Roman empire at the time. There were plenty of pagans too, who worshipped the old Roman gods, but generally the Christians were allowed to practice their religion  in peace. But then, in 303 AD, the Emperor Diocletian banned the Christian  faith and started torturing and killing Christians.

A choice

George had been a good soldier of Rome and a faithful servant of Christ, but now he had to chose between the two.  If he remained a soldier he would have to deny Christ and worship the gods of Rome. Then he would be allowed to live in peace. If he remained faithful to Christ he would have to disobey the Emperor and face the consequences.

George set out to the Emperor’s court to plead for the law to be changed. His friends begged him not to go. They could see it would end in his death. When he got the message the Emperor Diocletian refused to see George and handed him over to the governor of the city of Nicomedia. There George was condemned to death. He was tortured and dragged though the streets of the city. Eventually he was beheaded. This happened on April 23rd. – St George’s Day.

Make a stand

So George was a great soldier, a brave man, a faithful servant of God. Perhaps the story of his slaying a dragon is just a way of saying he stood up against the “dragon” of paganism and of tyranny.

We can all learn from George. We all have our dragons – those bad things in our lives we need to struggle against – things like cruelty, unkindness, greed, laziness selfishness.

There are also many temptations to do wrong  – to steal, or to  lie, or to take drugs. There are also evils in society we should fight against – such thing as ignorance and poverty and corruption.

Sometimes we have to make a stand for truth or right or justice – even when it costs us. To speak up for the weak and the oppressed. To be a follower of Jesus, even when no one else  seems to want to follow him. To not be afraid of being unpopular or appearing uncool because we stand up for what we believe.

Passover ceremony

Have you ever wondered why the date of Easter jumps around so much. There can be as much as a month’s difference from one year to the next. Easter is what is known as a “movable feast” – but why?

The simple answer is that it is connected with the Jewish Passover, and that varies from year to year because it always occurs at full moon. Jesus died and rose at Passover time, and so Easter is always held a this time of the year. But it does not always coincide with Passover. For some reason the Church leaders in the Middle Ages decided to use a different method of calculating the date to that used by the Jews. Possibly they were motivated by anti-semitism – I don’t know. I think it would be a very good idea if we kept the same time as the Jewish Passover, or alternatively  kept a fixed date for Easter. This year Easter does coincide with Passover, and so I thought it would be a good thing for us to see the parallels between the two.

Jewish passover rituals

The Passover has been celebrated for thousands of years by the Jewish people. It is a retelling of how God rescued his people from a life of slavery in Egypt. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt in a hurry after the last plague fell  ( the Death of the Firstborn). The original Passover ceremony involved the sacrifice of a lamb and the  daubing of its blood on the doorposts and lintel of the house. Then the lamb was roasted whole and eaten by the members of the family. They also ate unleavened bread as a reminder that, when they fled Egypt, they had not had time to wait for their bread to rise,  but ate it without yeast.

In the modern Passover ceremony there is no lamb – for since the destruction of the temple in AD 70 there have been no animal sacrifices in Judaism. A shank-bone of a lamb is always present on the table as a reminder of the sacrificial lamb but no lamb is eaten at the modern Passover meal.

Christian significance

“Well,” you might say, “that’s all very interesting, but what’s it got to do with us as Christians?”  A lot actually!

In the New Testament Christ is spoken of as the sacrificial lamb of God through whom the sins of the world are take away. John the Baptist  spoke of him in this way and Paul spoke of Christ our Passover sacrificed for us. It is very likely that his Last Supper with his disciples was a Passover meal. His use of bread and wine in the Sacrament he instituted comes from the Passover.

Not one bone broken

When the Passover Lamb was sacrificed it was important that none of its bones were broken. Its blood was poured out, but its bones were not broken, and it was roasted whole.  In Psalm 34: 20 it is prophesied of the Messiah that “not one of his bones will be broken”. During the crucifixion the soldiers came to break the leg bones of the victims as a means of hastening their death. (It prevented the man on the cross from being able to push up with his legs to take a breath. With their legs broken the poor victims could not breath and were soon asphyxiated.) But when the soldiers came to Jesus they found he was already dead, and so they did not break his leg bones. Thus the prophetic words of the Psalmist were fulfilled.

Passing over

The original Passover lambs were slain so that their blood could be daubed on to the door posts and lintels of the houses of the Israelites. It was said en that when the destroying angel came to strike the firstborn of that house he would stay his hand when he saw the blood on the door posts. God and his destroying angel  would “pass over” that house. Hence the term Passover.

It is from this incident in the Old Testament that we gain our Christian understanding of the work of redemption which Christ did for us. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. His blood was shed for us. When we trust in him and in the power of his blood we are, as it were, putting the blood on the doorposts and lintel of our lives.  God passes over our sins  and refrains form punishing us. Instead the punishment falls on Christ the sinless victim on the cross.

First fruits

As part of the Passover festival the Israelites would take some of the first fruits of their barley harvest and bring it to God’s Temple to offer as a sacrifice.
(There were two grain harvests in the land, one a barley harvest, which began at the Passover, and the other a wheat harvest, which began at Pentecost.)

They brought the first fruits ( i.e. the first sheaf of barley they harvested)  to show that they trusted God to provide for the rest of the harvest. How appropriate it is that it was at the time of the offering of the first fruits of the barley that Jesus rose from the dead. Paul tells us that Christ became the first fruits of those who are asleep (1 Corinthians 15:  20 ) -  i.e. the first one to rise from the dead and a guarantee that we also shall rise on the Last Day.

Resurrection

In the Passover ceremony today there is a fascinating ritual carried out by the head of the household. Three matzos ( pieces of unleavened bread) are taken and placed together. After a while the middle one is broken, wrapped in a cloth and hidden away while the ceremony proceeds. Later it is brought out and shared between the participants. It is thought that this was the unleavened bread which Jesus  broke and shared with his disciples saying, “This is my body which is broken for you”.

If you ask a Jew what is the significance of this part of the ceremony they will not be able to tell you. But Jews who have become followers of Jesus see a great significance in these actions. For them the three matzos represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The middle one is the Son, Jesus, whose flesh was broken on the cross. It is hidden in away, just as the body of Jesus was hidden in the tomb, and it is “resurrected”  just as he rose on the third day.

Christ our Passover

In the Passover ceremony four cups of wine are drunk. The third one, which is taken just after the meal, is known as the Cup of Redemption. It was this cup which Jesus raised when he said “this cup is the New Covenant in my blood”.  For his followers it represents his blood shed on the cross so that we could be forgiven. The New Covenant – the New Agreement – between God and his people, sealed with the sacrificial blood of Christ. Through his Death we are cleansed of our sins and through his Resurrection we are raised to newness of life. So this is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday. But every Sunday is a kind of mini Easter, a celebration of his Resurrection on the first day of the week. And every time we share in Holy Communion we remember the sacrifice of Jesus. In the worlds of the Apostle Paul:

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.      

 (1 Corinthians 5: 7-8 )

[Sermon preached at Brecon Presbyterian Church, Easter Sunday 2009 ]

Here is something I recently saw on the Internet:

The Colour of Friendship

Once upon a time the colours of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best; the most important, the most useful, the favorite

GREEN

said:
“Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was
chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”

BLUE

interrupted:
“You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the
water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.”

YELLOW

chuckled:
“You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun.”

ORANGE

started next to blow her trumpet:
“I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don’t hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.”

RED

could stand it no longer, he shouted out:
“I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood – life’s blood! I bring fire into
the blood. I am willing to fight for a cause. I am the color of danger and of
bravery. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.”

PURPLE

rose up to his full height:
He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, cheifs, and bishops have always chosen me, for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.”

Finally INDIGO spoke,

much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: “Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”
So the colours went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder.
Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening.Thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly.

The colours crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort. In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak: “You foolish colours, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colours united and joined hands.

The rain continued: “From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of colour as a reminder
that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.”

And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another

(Author unknown)

I remember reading about an American science student who wanted to show how scientific scare stories spread so he asked people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”

This substance, he said:

1. Can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.

2. Is a major component in acid rain.

3. Can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.

4. Accidental inhalation can kill you.

5. It contributes to erosion.

6. It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.

7. It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.

8. When it comes in contact with other materials it can initiate a chemical reaction,

9. It meets three of the requirements for classification as a hazardous material.

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.

Forty-three said yes. Six were undecided. Only one knew that the chemical was water (H2O)! The title of his prize winning project was :”How Gullible Are We?”

I think it is possible for us as Christians to be just as gullible about some of the propaganda thrown at us by the world. We need to remember that most of what we read in newspapers and see on television has been subject to a process of “spin” before it gets to us. We should question everything, and examine it in the light of the Bible. That is our touchstone by which we judge all things. Indeed we need to be “Christian sceptics” – not taking everything at face value.