On His Majesty's Service

 

July 2024

Dear Friends

On 4^th July we have an opportunity to elect Members to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.  Some of those who are elected will know that they should serve those who elected them.  Some may talk more about wanting to serve the cause of justice.  And some (secretly) may be hoping that their time as an MP will serve their own egos and personal ambitions.  But ultimately, they all have a responsibility to the Lord Jesus Christ, even those who think they have no connection to him. 

Why do I say that?  2000 years ago, the apostle Paul stood in the centre of Athens, surrounded by grand public buildings and temples to various gods, and declared that the God who created each Athenian had “set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).  Each citizen would need to give an account of his life to the risen Jesus.  And rulers would certainly not escape this reckoning, quite the reverse, for Jesus had said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”  (Luke 12:48)

Very few of those who lived within the Roman Empire had any role in choosing who governed them; they couldn’t vote to change their emperor!  But Paul did urge them to pray “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Paul’s prayer tells our MPs what they should do – they should aim that those who are godly and holy (by Jesus’ standards) will be able to live peaceful and quiet lives.  And they should aim for those who reject such goodness and purity to not have peace and quiet.

This prayer also reminds us how the Bible will shape us as voters – teaching us not to vote for those who just give us what we want in life, but to look for candidates who will make life peaceful for anyone who obeys God’s laws.  And not forgetting to keep praying “for kings and all those in authority”.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

How can we help?

June 2024

Dear Friends

Our church was built for the whole village, and I was appointed as a minister to everyone, not just those who gather on Sundays.  Of course, anyone is welcome to come to our services, events and the groups we run for those enquiring about Christian faith (a warm welcome guaranteed) but here’s five other things you may wish to know:

Visiting you
I am available to talk about anything that I might be able to help you with.  If you’ve got questions, or you’d just like to talk, then do get in touch.  We also have a small team who regularly visit those in any kind of need.  If that’s you, or someone you know, please ask.

Visiting the church
Churches should be places where anyone can find quiet to think or pray.  Burton church is open 10am - 4pm every Friday and Saturday for anyone to visit and we’re working to get Holme church open too.  Watch for an announcement!

Baptisms (aka Christenings)
Baptism is a sign of the Lord Jesus’ willingness to forgive and wash clean from all guilt.  The ‘candidate’ is received into Christ’s family and confirms that Christ is his or her Saviour and Lord.  (For a child, parents and godparents answer for him or her.)  I’d be delighted to meet you and discuss this.

Weddings
Church weddings openly acknowledge that marriage is God’s gift and the vows are made before Him.  If you are not previously married and have lived here at any time for at least 6 months (or you have another ‘qualifying connection’) then you can be married in the church.  If you have been married before then a church wedding may be possible, but we need to talk.  A Church of England wedding costs £712.

Funerals
Anyone who lived here, or had a connection to the parish, can have a church funeral service and burial in the churchyard.  I also take services at the Crematorium for those who would like a Christian funeral service there.  We inter ashes in the churchyard under a simple stone tablet.  A funeral service in church, with burial, costs £719 (not including grave-digging or other charges paid to the funeral director).

If you would like to know more, please get in touch with me.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

By whose authority?

 

May 2024

Dear Friends

Do you think kings have God’s authority to rule?  This is explicit in the coronation of our monarchs – they are anointed with oil, like the kings in ancient Israel, as a sign that God is setting them apart for this duty.  And, technically, our government is “in authority under” the king and therefore rules by the same power.

Some say this is bad because anyone who thinks he has God’s authority to rule will be a tyrant.  Not necessarily so; he may instead realise that he is accountable to the God who gave him his authority and who will judge him for his rule, whether good or bad.  Britain once had bishops who held monarchs to the Bible and were not afraid to say that they must rule as servants of their heavenly King.

But when prime ministers and presidents, elected governments and unelected bureaucrats, think there is no God over them they may assume that they have ultimate authority, the right to ‘do whatever it takes’, to act like god.  This is true tyranny!

And when we don’t believe that there is a God over us, we look to the state to solve every problem, to provide for us, to act like god.  We create the statist beast and grumble that we have no freedom.

But how can rulers be under divine authority when there seem to be so many gods to choose from? 9th May is Ascension Day.  The risen Jesus was only on earth for 40 days before he ascended to the right hand of God the Father, the place of all authority and power in our world.  He told his disciples what was happening, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  (Matthew 28:19)

That’s why the early Christians knew that Caesar was not God and why they were prepared to be killed rather than give up their creed, ‘Jesus is Lord’.  They knew that all rulers will answer to the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the living God.  A change of our political leaders without a change of heart over this will not save us. 

You are warmly invited to come and join us at 7.30pm on 9^th May in St James Church Burton for our Ascension Day service. 

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Pioneering

 

April 2024

What if there was a Good Friday but no Easter Day?  Then it was not ‘good’ and nothing good in this world will last.

What if the cold, dark tomb was Jesus’ final resting place?  Then we have no hope of resurrection either.  All will perish forever.

What if Jesus’ confident assertion that he would rise again was ignorant or deceitful?  Then all Christian preaching is a lie and Christians are to be pitied more than most.  The offer of forgiveness was indeed too good to be true.

What if death is still an undefeated enemy whose assault against us can only be delayed a little?  Then Jesus is not the Son of God and triumphant Easter hymns are cruel lies.

But something happened to turn a small band of dejected and frightened followers into fearless heralds and martyrs of the Risen Lord Jesus.

Something greater than a baseless fable broke out of Judea and began to conquer hearts and minds across the Roman Empire right up to the Emperor himself.

Something other than the hallucinations of a few drunk disciples split history in two and led to a calendar that dates everything from Jesus.

Something more than empty promises has given solid hope and inexplicable joy through the centuries to Christians facing persecution and poverty, illness and death.

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have ‘fallen asleep’ … But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”  (1 Corinthians 15:20,23)

Resurrection life is not for Jesus alone; he is our pioneer.  Resurrection life is not a right or a reward.  Resurrection life is a gift of God, freely offered through his Son, and received by  those who simply and sincerely take him at his word.

Christmas lasts but 12 days; Easter for 50!  It’s one long, joyful celebration of resurrection life – come and join us!  Or to join one of our 3-session Hope Explored courses please send me a message or give me a call.

Happy Easter!

Graham Burrows

The Scapegoat

March 2024

Dear Friends

Perfect justice is appealing: those who’ve betrayed us, or trampled on us, will get all they deserve, either at the hands of men or by the hand of God (see my February letter). Perfect justice is appealing – until we remember that we must answer for our mistreatment of others and, even worse, we remember that we have lived our lives trying to keep the God who made us out of the picture. ‘I did it my way,’ is the confession of rebels who must expect to be overthrown by the One who rightfully belongs on the throne of our lives.

Many know what Jesus said about this – that he had not come, initially, to execute judgment but to offer forgiveness. ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’ (Mark 2:5) were Jesus’ startling words to the paralysed man lying on his mat.

But how is forgiveness possible?  Not by God sweeping our rebellion under the carpet, ignoring the things that we have said and done to others; rather by Jesus taking our place. On that first Good Friday, Jesus’ body was horribly broken on the cross by the penalty that should have been mine and yours.

But how is it just for Jesus to be punished for something he didn’t do, and for me not to be punished for the things that I have done?  No-one made a scapegoat of Jesus against his will. Jesus said that no-one would take his life from him, “but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). 

If Jesus and those he is rescuing were legally separate persons then it would still be immoral to punish ‘the wrong person’. But the Bible says that those who trust in Christ are more closely joined to him than even the ‘two-become-one’ bond of marriage. Jesus takes on himself the unpayable debt that we owe God and he gives to his people all that he is, and shares with us all that he has. Despite the objections of some, the cross of Jesus is actually the place where God demonstrates his perfect justice (Romans 3:25).

So, that leaves one question: Do we want to continue to bear full responsibility for our actions, or are we willing to accept Jesus’ invitation and let him shoulder the burden and blame for us?  (Galatians 2:16)

Happy Easter!

Graham Burrows

In the Open

February 2024

Dear Friends

Have you ever been blamed for something you did not do?  Even for a minor classroom offence the false accusation can sting.  Especially if others knew who really threw the ball of paper but no-one was prepared to speak up.

For the postmasters who were accused of theft, their anger and despair must have multiplied as the years went by without a way to prove their innocence.  And that is just one example among many in our country where people seem to have concealed, distorted or spun the truth to suit themselves.  How can we live in such a nation without despair?

Here’s three convictions that, if they were widely held, would transform life in a world of lies:

1. Objective truth exists.  Whatever is true is true for you and it’s true for me.  There’s no such thing as ‘my truth’.  Believing that truth is relative leads to the depressing conclusion that nothing is certain and no-one’s word is better than another’s.  But there is truth that is objectively, eternally, truly true because there is an eternal God who is not part of creation and who knows and speaks the truth about all things.  “I am the Lord, and there is no other … I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”  (Isaiah 45:18-19)
   
   
2. Always speak the truth.  With very few exceptions (like preventing enemies causing harm) we should always speak truthfully.  We do this because we want to live in an honest nation, and because we don’t want to destroy ourselves by giving lies a foothold in our hearts.  But most of all we speak the truth because God commands it: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.”  (Exodus 20:16)
   
   
3. Trust God to judge justly.  Human justice is always prone to fail; no-one can discern the truth about everything.  But God will judge justly.  No facts will be forgotten and no cover-up will survive.  God knows every keystroke on every Horizon terminal in every Post Office.  “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened … [They] were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”  (Revelation 20:12)

Perfect justice is appealing, until we remember that our own lies will be exposed too.  How will we survive such an examination?  Can God forgive and still be a just judge?  I’ll answer that next month.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Where are the soldiers?

December 2023

Dear Friends

Some people are missing.  We’ve got a few behind doors all set to tell the travellers that there are no vacancies.   Others, with tea-towels on their heads and smelling of sheep, are ready to kneel before their future king.  Kings are waiting in the wings carrying beautifully wrapped, expensive presents.  And here comes the foot-sore young man with his exhausted pregnant wife.  But shouldn’t Herod’s soldiers be here somewhere, brandishing swords with which to carry out Herod’s terrible massacre of the young boys in Bethlehem?

We understand why children’s nativity plays usually end the story before the soldiers arrive.  But there are good reasons not to forget that the soldiers are very definitely part of the story in Matthew’s Gospel.

Soldiers are part of the violent world we live in, and that Jesus was born into. Tragically, children are all too often the victims of the self-centred actions of adults – whether they’re unwanted, caught in the crossfire, or deliberately targeted.

Secondly, the soldiers remind us that the violence of our world was directed against Jesus Christ himself.  From Herod’s attempt to kill him at birth, to the Jewish leaders’ later death plots and the Roman authorities’ collusion with their wishes, Jesus Christ was in the firing line.

In fact, Jesus came into our world knowing full well that this would happen, that the whole world would oppose him and crush him and that he would absorb in his own body all the guilt and horrifying  consequences of our hostility towards him and his Father.

Amazingly, Jesus, knowing how we would treat him, still came. 

Wonderfully, death could not hold him, and no human plot could prevent his enthronement as the invincible sovereign of our world.

“Unto us a boy is born!
King of all creation,
came he to a world forlorn,
the Lord of every nation,
the Lord of every nation.”

You will be warmly welcome at any of our services or family events, at Christmas or at any other time.

Happy Christmas!

Graham Burrows