Matthew 10:34-39, 11:16-30: You Didn’t Dance

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 15 Sept. 2013

By Captain Michael Ramsay

I have a lot of respect for the church that I grew up in – of which Jake was the Head Pastor. From my old youth or young adult group, of the people that I know of personally, 6 or 7 of us now are clergy working for the Lord in anything from large Baptist churches to Alliance churches to Youth for Christ Ministries to hospital chaplaincies to The Salvation Army and that is not including our spouses - some of whom went to church with us - and that is also not including people of whom I no longer have any knowledge of their lives.

Now we could have up to 100 people at to a youth event when I was young. My Sunday school classes were often larger than our group gathered here today. I had great Sunday school teachers from the time that I was a teenager through university especially. We would discuss and debate everything.

Then as now I read my Bible a lot. We would often have theological debates about our lives. A common topic then was smoking as more than half of Canadians in those days smoked.  I was one of those smokers as a teenager. Whenever -in those days- someone would say that I was defiling my body as the Temple of God through my bad habit of having a cigarette, I would quickly respond from scripture that it is not what goes into a body that defiles it but what comes out of it (Mark 7:20-23) and I would often point to this part of today’s scripture. “Like you” I would say, Matthew 11:18, “…John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say ‘He has a demon.’ [Like me, Jesus], The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say he is a drunkard, a friend of …sinners”.

These days, I no longer smoke or drink, of course. Some of those there who didn’t drink then, now do but they still have very powerful ministries. I remember one person...

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/09/matthew-1034-39-1116-30-you-didnt-dance.html

Matthew 8:1-9:34: You are Healed

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 01 Sept 2013 by Rebecca, Sarah-Grace, and Captain Michael Ramsay

“The Miracle stories in [Matthew] 8:1-9:34 should not be interpreted in isolation, but each should be interpreted in the context of the section as a whole, since it was constructed by Matthew as “Messiah in deed” (cf. 11:2), corresponding 5:7-29 as “Messiah in word”.[1] Today we will very quickly attempt to do just that while focusing on healings: the infirmity, the patient, who initiates the healing, what is the response, what is the directive, and then after we do all of this we will try to pull it together and ask ourselves how do all of Jesus’ healings here recorded apply to our lives today?

Matthew 8:1-4: When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Infirmity: Leprosy (any skin disease)

Patient: Leper (social outcast)

Initiation: “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2)

Response: “I am willing”, “Be clean” – Immediately the man was healed (v.3)

Directive: 1) Tell no one 2) Show yourself to the priest and offer sacrifices as a testimony (v.4)

This healing miracle is initiated by a man suffering from a skin disease. It may or may not be Hansen’s Disease –which is what we think of when we think of leprosy. This man, however, is shunned by his community: people with skin diseases are not allowed to take part in many social activities. He is an outcast. He is seen as unclean. There are a couple of important things that I notice off the bat about this healing. 1) The way the leper approaches Jesus: he approaches Him with deference and respect. He doesn’t command Jesus as if Jesus is some genie in a bottle. Instead the man says, Verse 2, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” And, Verse 3, then “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’” And 2) as he is healed, Jesus tells the man to offer the appropriate sacrifices to God as a testimony to the priests. We need to thank God for what he does in our lives and we need to share that with our religious leaders so that they have the opportunity to offer Glory to God as well.

Read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/09/matthew-81-934-you-are-healed.html

Mathew 7: A Short Walk Through Some Difficult Teachings

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 24 Aug. 2013

By Captain Michael Ramsay

Today's sermon is going to be a little bit different than most of ours mostly because I haven't had a lot of time this week to find myriad stories to illustrate my points. I have been able to read quite a few different articles on this pericope so today we will take a little bit of a walk through Chapter 7. First I do have a story and a comic. The story is from Al Meyers:

With the new distracted driving laws in place across this country the RCMP are used to pulling over teenagers on their cell phones, making phone calls or even texting but what this one police officer saw was quite different. He saw an older lady knitting as she was driving down the highway. He put on his lights behind her but she didn't see him. She just kept driving so he pulled up behind her and yelled, “pull over”

“No”, She replied, “Sweater.”

This comic is one that was shared for us at Officer/family retreat this past week: There is this Baptist pastor about to baptize one of his parishioners. He goes to the tank. He holds his parishioner's hands. He says a prayer and then he looks at his friend and tells him that now when you are baptized all of you and everything that goes under the water belongs to God. This picture is the last frame of that comic.

We shouldn't necessarily judge the new convert for his actions in our story today - or should we? Let us look at our text today, Matthew 7:1-2: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (See Romans 2:1).

First thing here: What does it mean when it says do not judge? Does it mean that we are not supposed to discern right from wrong? Does it mean that we aren't supposed to make judgements at all? Does it mean that we are supposed to just go with the flow? No. The Apostle Paul is quite clear in calling us to judge the actions of other believers. 1 Corinthians 5, especially Verse 12, Paul tells us explicitly to do so.

Read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/08/mathew-7-short-walk-through-some.html

Matthew 6 Sence and Non-Cents

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 18 August 2013

by Captain Michael Ramsay

Some one-liners for you:

Ø      Venison for dinner again? Oh Deer!

Ø      I used to be a banker…until I lost interest

Ø      England has no kidney bank but it does have a…Liverpool

Ø      I tried to catch some fog but I…mist

Ø      Broken pencils are… pointless.

Ø      I know a guy who says he’s addicted to break fluid but he says he can stop anytime.

Ø      How long do marriages typically last? 16 years: 4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poor

Matthew Chapter 6 is an interesting chapter. It is a portion of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, which does address times that are for better, for worse; for richer or for poor. Matthew 6 contains in its lines, the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), further teaching on prayer (6:5-15), teaching on fasting (6:16-17) and some of Jesus’ very clear teaching on money and possessions (6:1-4, 19-34). Chapter 7, which we may examine next week, also adds to this some of Jesus’ other well-known insights on the matter (7:7-12).

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/08/matthew-6-sense-and-non-cents.html

Test of Faith

Galatians 5:13-6:10: Test of Faith

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 04 August 2013
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Name that province associated with these items:           

1.      Anne of Green Gables

2.      Blue Nose

3.      Oil / Texas north

4.      Wheat / Watch your dog run away for 3 days

5.      Mosquitoes / Lois Riel

6.      Mountains / Lumber Jacks / Canucks and Lions

7.      The Rock / The Salvation Army

8.      The centre of the universe / Capital

9.      To separate or not to separate / Maple Syrup

10.  Bi-lingual Herring-choker

 

Answers and more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/08/galatians-513-610-test-of-faith.html

Complete

Galatians 4:8-11: Vs. Old Jewish Law

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 28 July 2013

by Captain Michael Ramsay

I heard this on the radio the other week: A man was nervously walking down the street in New York. A large intimidating man approaches him and asks ‘do you know where Central Park is’

‘No”

“Then I’ll rob you here…”

 A man in his car asked a police/by-law officer, ‘Is it alright if I park here?’

‘No’, the police/by-law officer replies

‘What about all of these other cars?’

‘They didn’t ask…”

In our pericope today we are speaking about the old Jewish Law. And just like Larry here enforces parking and other by-laws in our city, many of which probably didn’t exist 100 years ago, when The Salvation Army came to Swift Current; the Apostle Paul is saying that the old Jewish Law’s time has been fulfilled, it is no longer needed so they shouldn’t be enforcing it anymore. I’m going to read a few old Canadian Laws that have been fulfilled; some of which are still law on paper if not in practice:

Ø      You may not pay for a fifty-cent item with only pennies (Canada).

Ø      Citizens may not publicly remove bandages (Canada).

Ø      It is illegal to kill a sasquatch. (BC)

Ø      A law requires jailers to bring convicted debtors a pint of beer on demand.  (BC)

Ø      Driving on the roads is not allowed. (New Brunswick)

Ø      Bylaw states that no more than 3.5 inches of water is allowed in a bathtub.  (Ont.)

Ø      Businesses must provide rails for tying up horses. (Alta)

Ø      It is illegal to kill a sick person by frightening them. (Alta)

Ø      If you have a water trough in your front yard it must be filled by 5:00 a.m. (Ont.)

Ø      You can't drag a dead horse down Yonge Street in Toronto on a Sunday. (Ont.)

Ø      If you are released from prison, it is required that you are given a handgun with bullets and a horse, so you can ride out of town. (Alta)

A lot of these old laws sound silly to the post-modern person, as they are no longer required because the world has changed significantly since they came into effect. And today, even if it still is ‘on the books’, I wouldn’t want to try giving an Alberta ex-con a loaded handgun outside the prison gates. I can’t see how that would end well for him or for you. And if you have a trough in your yard, I would be very surprised if Larry gives you a ticket for not having it filled with water by 5am.

In the previous chapter, Chapter 3 of Galatians, Paul explains quite nicely this very point as it pertains to the old Jewish Law through the analogies of a student and a child

read more:

http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/07/galatians-3-4-vs-old-jewish-law.html

Do I Know You?

Galatians Chapter 2: Do I Know You?

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army 14 July 2013, by Captain Michael Ramsay.

Three weeks ago now, when we were in Toronto, the new Chief Secretary of the Canadian Salvation Army told us this story:

There was a man who was new to town. He just got transferred to a new city. The company was having a softball game and he thought that this would be a good time to get to know people in the company and the town. He went up to bat. He missed the first pitch and someone yelled, 'good try Mr. Moore'; he didn’t think that he knew anyone; he looked around; he struck out and someone yelled, 'we're cheering for you Mr. Moore.' Who is calling him? Again and again he goes up to bat, inning after inning and each at bat he is just as bad as the previous one but each time he hears someone yell, 'well done Mr. Moore', 'Doing good Mr. Moore', 'We're cheering for you Mr. Moore.' He is looking around. He can't see anyone he knows - except his wife and son but each time he is up to bat - even though he can't hit anything someone is cheering him on, 'Good game Mr. Moore.'

      After the game he asks his family, 'Did you hear that person cheering me on?' 'Do you know who it was?'

      'It was me', his son says, 'I wanted to support you and make you feel better.'

      'Why did you call me Mr. Moore instead of dad like usual?'

      ‘I didn't want anyone to know I was related to you. You were terrible.’

‘Thanks, son.’

This is not entirely dissimilar to Cephas (Peter) in Galatians 2, which we read earlier.  We notice that he at first enjoys associating with the Christian Gentiles but then the Christians show up from Jerusalem and it is almost as if he pretends that he isn't related to the Gentile Christians at all. Whereas Peter was eating with the Gentile Christians and relating to them positively in culturally appropriate ways before, now these Christians show up from Jerusalem and everything is different.

Read More:

http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/07/galatians-chapter-2-do-i-know-you.html

Does Acts 10, recall the first time that the Gospel is brought to the Gentiles?

Acts 10:1-11:18: It's All In Who You Know

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 02 June 2013

By Captain Michael Ramsay

Acts 11:17 : So if God gave them the same gift [of the Spirit and therefore of Salvation] as He gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?

Today's talk is going to be a little bit different than most of our Sunday messages. Today will be more of a teach than a preach and this is for a couple of reasons. 1) There was a question that has come up a few times in people's Bible study as we have been looking through the book as Acts that I tough we should look at and 2) I wasn't planning on preaching today so I decided that I would re-write an academic paper that I had previously written rather than just wing it from the pulpit here.

Acts 10, which we are going to look at today, has been considered a very important chapter because it is understood to be the place where the Good News of Christ is brought to the Gentiles. Peter is recorded as declaring after this encounter with God and the centurion, Cornelius in Acts 10:34ff., “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). Acts 10:1-16 contains the visions the Lord gave to Cornelius and to the Apostle Peter.

In Acts 10:1-8 the reader is introduced to Cornelius and the vision that God gave to him. Cornelius is not only a foreigner but also a commander of the occupying military forces. The Romans were known to tolerate foreign religions and even invoke the names of regional deities before they attacked a city;[1] however, it is quite another thing for Cornelius to be “a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God” (Acts 10:2). This brings us to our first question of the text before us today:

1) Does this pericope, Acts 10, recall the first time that the Gospel (Good News of Christianity) is brought to the Gentiles (who had not already converted to the Israelites religion)?

Read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/06/acts-101-1118-its-all-in-who-you-know.html

Salvation Army High Council Appoints Commissioner André Cox as New International Leader

For Immediate Release Toronto, ON August 6, 2013 – The Salvation Army’s highest court appointed Commissioner André Cox as the 20th General for the organization on August 3, 2013. General Cox, a Swiss-British officer was elected by the High Council and sworn in as the new international leader for The Salvation Army. The High Council consisted of 117 senior leaders of The Salvation Army from around the world, making it the largest in the history of the organization. As the new international leader of The Salvation Army, General Cox will lead The Salvation Army in its Mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet the needs of suffering humanity. In his role at the organization’s International Headquarters in London, General Cox will be joined by his wife, Commissioner Silvia Cox, who is the World President of Women's Ministries. Together, General and Commissioner Cox will direct the 1.5 million strong world-wide church of The Salvation Army. “This is truly a memorable moment for The Salvation Army world-wide,” said Commissioner Brian Peddle, Territorial Commander for The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda. “General Cox is fulfilling his calling as an officer and servant of God, to guide the ministry of The Salvation Army.” General Cox was born in Harare, Zimbabwe to an English father and Swiss mother, and spent his childhood in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom. He eventually moved to Switzerland, where he met his wife. From there they entered training to become Salvation Army officers, taking up their first appointments in 1979. The 59-year-old General has vast experience of the international ministry of The Salvation Army. In the early years of his Salvation Army officership, General Cox held appointments in Switzerland and Zimbabwe. More recently, General Cox has served as the Territorial Commander in the Southern Africa Territory, the Finland and Estonia Territory and the United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland. In February 2013 he was appointed as Chief of the Staff – second in command of the international Salvation Army. On being announced as The Salvation Army's 20th General, the new international leader told more than 10,000 people from around the world watching via a live webcast that he was thankful to God, but aware of the 'awesome task that has been placed upon our shoulders'. He continued: 'I pray that The Salvation Army will be known for being a force for good in the world ... that The Salvation Army will be a force for positive change and transformation in the communities in which we serve ... [and] that Salvationists will live up to the spiritual values we proclaim.' He was welcomed to International Headquarters on Monday, August 5. About The Salvation Army: The Salvation Army is an international Christian organization that began its work in Canada in 1882 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in the country. The Salvation Army gives hope and support to vulnerable people today and everyday in 400 communities across Canada and more than 120 countries around the world. The Salvation Army offers practical assistance for children and families, often tending to the basic necessities of life, providing shelter for homeless people and rehabilitation for people who have lost control of their lives to an addiction. When you give to The Salvation Army, you are investing in the future of marginalized and overlooked people in your community. News releases, articles and updated information can be found at www.SalvationArmy.ca For further information please contact: Captain Les Marshall Territorial Public Relations & Development Secretary The Salvation Army Phone: 416-422-6131 Les_Marshall@can.salvationarmy.org www.SalvationArmy.ca