Reality Check

Reality Check: The One Prayer That God Doesn’t Answer

As we conclude our series on 1 John, we examine 1 John 5:16–21. One thing you can “be sure of is that your sins will find you out.” you can hide sin for a season, but it will always find you. It reminds me of the young couple about to get married. The young man went to his dad and said, “I’m a bit apprehensive about getting married, Dad”. “why, son”, said the dad. “well, I’ve got terribly smelly feet dad and it’ll be so embarrassing when my wife finds out”. “don’t worry about it, son, just be sure to go to bed with your socks on and she’ll never notice the smell. You’ll be fine”. Meanwhile, the young lady goes to her mother and tells her, “I’m a bit worried about getting married, mom, because I’ve got terrible bad breath in the mornings and it’ll be so embarrassing when my husband finds out”. Mom says to her daughter, “don’t worry, dear. All you need to do is, be sure not to open your mouth first thing in the morning. Don’t say a single word until you’ve been to the bathroom and brushed your teeth.” The wedding goes off fine and for six months they each manage to keep their secrets safe. Then one morning at about 5.00 am, the young husband wakes up and suddenly realizes one of his socks has come off in bed. He frantically rummages around under the bed clothes trying to find this elusive smelly sock when suddenly his young wife wakes up. As he pops his head out from under the blankets she says to him, “what on earth are you doing”? He replies, “oh no, you’ve eaten one of my socks”! You can hide something for a while, but when you least expect it you will be exposed. Read More

The text we will study this morning was the favorite text of one of my spiritual heroes William Tyndale, the first man to translate the New Testament into english from the Greek. At the age of 30, Tyndale was the private tutor of a six-year-old named Harry Walsh, son of a Knight of Gloucestershire, in Sodbury. Later in life Harry Walsh recounted with perfect clarity the evening Tyndale informed him that he was leaving the town of Sodbury. Turning in his Greek New Testament to 1 John 4, Tyndale began to read, translating into English, for young Harry. When he came to 1 John 4:19, Tyndale reminded Harry that these words were the reason he was certain he would enter the Kingdom of God. “why must you go?” asked Harry sadly. “because it is time the people have the Bible in their own language,” Tyndale responded. Tyndale was about to embark on the work that changed the world: the translation of the New Testament into English, along with the Torah and Jonah. Years later, on an October morning in 1536, Harry Walsh sat by the dining room fire staring out the window. He had just heard the news that his dear childhood tutor, William Tyndale, had been strangled and burned for translating the Bible into English. Taking his wife by her arm, he led her across the room where they both stood in reverent silence before the scripture that was hanging on their wall: “we love him because He first loved us.” Read More

On Sunday, I continued my series on 1 John that we are calling "Reality Check". Watch below and follow along. Along with the expansion of the internet came an increase in scams by con artists and swindlers looking to prey on unsuspecting individuals. If you have an email address, you were contacted last year by a member of a Nigerian family looking for someone to give money to. In every variation, the scammer is promising obscenely large payments for small unskilled tasks. This scam, like most scams, is too good to be true. Yet people still fell for this money transfer con game. The more you are willing to pay, the more they will try to siphon from your wallet. You will never see any of the promised money, because there isn’t any. This is not something new. In fact, the scam dates back to 1920s when it was known as ‘The Spanish Prisoner’ con. Read More

Reality Check: Seeing Is Believing

On Sunday, I began a new sermon series on 1 John that we are calling "Reality Check". We start with verse 1-4. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (ESV) Read More

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