Monday, 27 October 2025
MY NEXT SERMON
I AM PREACHING NEXT ON SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2025 - at ALL SAINTS' PARISH CHURCH, WINTERSLOW, WILTSHIRE - 9.15 a.m. and ALL SAINT'S CHURCH FARLEY on the same day at 11.00 a.m.
SERMON 225 - SUNDAY 26 OCTOBER 2025 - BIBLE SUNDAY
Sermon at Morning Worship, All Saints’ Church,
Winterslow – Bible Sunday – Sunday 26 October 2025
Isaiah 45:22-25; Romans 15:1-6; Luke 4:16-24
May I speak in the name of
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and may these words be those of you, Lord, and
may they be a blessing to all who listen and hear them.
As a child, living in the
late 1950s and 1960s, we had few books in our house, or, especially in the
house of my maternal grandparents, but one book which was common to each
household was a black leatherbound copy of the King James Version of the bible
– with gilded edges. In both cases, those volumes, whilst appearing to be quite
old, were clearly seldom read. In picking our copy at home and skimming its
flimsy pages, I found the language and content quite incomprehensible.
Subsequently I learned most about the characters contained within its pages
from bible stories learned at school.
Later on, I joined my local
church choir, as I had, back then, a beautiful (so I was told) treble voice and
would listen, twice on Sunday – at Matins and Evensong – to passages of the
bible as read out by the church wardens and then discussed by the local vicar
from the pulpit. I still found the
language archaic, mainly historic and of little relevance to me, my life and my
community except that, living in a town built on fishing, I could relate to
those first disciples, Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John although having
seen, through the pages of the Grimsby Evening Telegraph, how the
trawlermen of Grimsby could behave after weeks at sea, I thought it rather
fantastical that Jesus should have chosen those types to be his first
disciples.
It was not until I went away
to Liverpool to study law in the early 1970s that I joined the Christian Union
at the suggestion of a fellow student and was introduced to a more evangelic
form of worship and to a paraphrase of the Bible which I could understand – The
Living Translation – and through this and joining in with other Christians
my understanding and faith grew. Indeed,
suddenly the Bible really did became a living thing.
I narrate this little
biography as it really does say much about how the Bible can be a bit of a
brick wall for many, preventing them from really understanding the messages it
contains for us today and the fact that it is a living and important part of our
Faith.
On this, Bible Sunday, we
celebrate not an object but a living Word the Scriptures that form us, shape us
and send us out into the world. Our readings, this morning remind us that God
speaks to us, that we can hear what he is saying to us and by listening we are
led to a life formed by what we receive. In other words, reading the Bible is
more about being formed than being informed.
In Luke 4 we see Jesus in
his hometown synagogue: an event which would have been a commonplace ritual for
him and his family – just as we attend church on most Sundays with family and
fellow worshippers. Jesus stands, is handed the scroll of Isaiah, just as we
have had read a passage from Isaiah this morning, and reads words of good news
to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and
freedom for the oppressed. Then he sits
down and makes the startling claim -“Today this scripture has been fulfilled
in your hearing”. That one moment, in the Bible captures the heart of our
Christian faith – unlike what I first thought, when I saw those ancient bibles
in my family’s homes – scripture is not just a series of ancient poetry,
biography or moral instruction (although it is also all of these), it is also
the present Word of God that meets us, calls us and sets us all on a new path.
Turning back, a moment to
out first two readings, Isaiah 45 calls us to look to God for our salvation: “Turn
to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no
other.” A reminder to us that there
is only one God and all others are false. It’s a voice which reaches beyond
just Israel but to all nations hence “all the ends of the earth” and
therefore calls upon us, as Jesus later called upon us in Matthew 28 to “go
out and make disciples of all nations.”; to acknowledge that God alone,
through Jesus Christ, is Lord and Saviour – the very essence of our Christian
Belief today.
In our Second Reading, Paul
in Romans, urges the Christian community to live with mutual care and unity so
that, together, not individually, we may glorify God. Paul writes that the
Scriptures give us hope and endurance – both of which we very much need to have
in this modern-day world of such much hatred, division and suffering. We are to
work together, to worship together, to support each other and bear with one
another. Scripture is not a private fuel for individual devotion only – it is
designed to be a communal glue that binds a diverse body of people, different
individuals into a combined group praising and serving.
So what do these passages,
when we read them together, tell us about the importance of reading and
understanding the Bible in our modern world?
First of all, Scripture is a
living encounter. Like that congregation
in Nazareth, we are summoned to hear and listen to God’s voice today. When we
read our bibles we should do so with openness and prayer because as we read,
the Holy Spirit can make words speak present truth, healing, justice and
freedom in our own individual circumstances.
Secondly, Scripture will
show us the way towards God’s call to us for his Mission in the World. Our
reading should not just be an academic exercise but calls us to action – for
example to go forth and make disciples of others, to relieve poverty and help
others. To be compassionate and seek
social justice.
Thirdly, as Paul in Romans
has already said to foster community and unity.
The bible does not seek to provide a club or, as I have often said a
“holy huddle” but we should also share experiences and interpretations with
each other through Bible study groups, family devotions and such like. That way
we can each grow in our Faith and understanding.
Fourthly, reading the Bible
will keep reminding us of Truth in a world where we see more and more lies and
falseness, “fake news”, around us where it can be difficult to discern fact
from fiction. Every time I pray, I always include a prayer for discernment.
A final word on how we
should approach reading Scripture:
when we read the Bible we
should read it with no fixed agenda. A great mistake is to have an idea of your
own and then look for a piece of scripture to justify or support it. This is a great device of many of the false
“Word of Faith” prosperity gospel preachers. This is called eisegesis or
proof texting (putting something into the meaning of the text to support
your own thinking). The opposite is what we should be practicing – exegesis
– meaning taking out of the text what it really means. To do this we need to ask ourselves – When
was it written? Who wrote it? Why was it written? In other word, what is the
context in which it came about.
As we celebrate Bible
Sunday, let us renew our commitment to let the Bible shape our minds hearts and
hands. Let us follow Jesus who read Isaiah and announced God’s reign in action;
Let us remember Isaiah’s call to turn to God and receive salvation and let us
put on Paul’s vision of a community that bears with one another and glories God
together.
So, here’s a practical
invitation for the week – what good news do you feel your neighbours need? How
is God calling you to embody that good news?
How can you help fulfil the promises which Jesus mentioned in his reading
of Isaiah?
Because the Word of God does
not come back empty. Let us open our Bibles, open our hearts and allow God’s
living Word to form us for faithful witness in our modern times. Let us pray:
This world tempts us
to believe the wisdom that comes
from human minds,
to have faith in no other thing.
But we have glimpsed the Truth
revealed in Scripture’s words,
and we shall worship the Lord our God,
and serve him alone!
This world tempts us
to believe we have control
of our destiny,
and have no need of the Divine.
But we have felt the touch
of Christ upon our hearts,
and we shall worship the Lord our God
and serve him alone!
Amen
MFB/225/23102025
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