Extras for Matthew 6:19-34, from Sunday 14/3/2010 >> when our society preaches at us 24/7 to invest our security in the ephemeral treasures of this world, we need all the help we can get to follow Jesus’ instruction to invest in the eternal treasures of heaven. There are all sorts of helps from God in this regard, one I hope may be of some value is this brief article on John Wesley’s attitude to money.
Extras for Matthew 7:1-12, from Sunday 21/3/2010 >> in this section Jesus gives us tips for communal living, according to our key relationships in God’s family: our siblings, our Father, the wider world. The Christian life is never individualistic but lived out in a community of God’s people: it’s communal living, not necessarily under the same roof but under the same Master!
We’re used to speaking of the local church as our ‘church family’, for there are many similarities that the Bible itself draws with our families of flesh and blood. Christians certainly seem to be pro-family and stand up for ‘family values’, which makes it surprising to find within the Bible’s pages the dark side of human families – it turns out that the Bible’s ‘family values’ may not be as warm and positive as we’d expect. I believe this is crucial for our witness in society – standing up for the common good in our society has to be so much more than ‘family values’. Read more in this excellent leaflet, Family: a Christian approach (PDF 810K).
Dave
