{"id":3466,"date":"2019-11-17T20:48:53","date_gmt":"2019-11-17T20:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=3466"},"modified":"2019-11-17T20:49:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-17T20:49:14","slug":"sermon-17th-november-2019-evening","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-17th-november-2019-evening\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 17th November 2019 – evening"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2nd Sunday before Advent \u2013 evening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 17th November 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

2 before Advent \u2013 evening
\nDaniel 6
\nMatt.13. 1-9; 18-23<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Maureen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\nCan most of you remember the\nprayer from Compline that goes, \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBe sober, be vigilant,\nbecause your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about,\nseeking whom he may devour; whom resist, steadfast in the faith.?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIt comes from the first letter\nof Peter in the NT and is a traditional prayer for protection that\nkeeps prowling lions at bay during the night. There is an obvious\nconnection to the incredible and highly entertaining story of Daniel\nin the Lions\u2019 Den that we heard as our first lesson this evening.\nIt is one of those bible stories that is memorable and dramatic \u2013\nchildren often adore it \u2013 anxious to learn whether Daniel will be\neaten alive, or be protected by God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIt is a story about a hero\nwhose faith overcomes all things, even protecting him from the jaws\nof a hungry predator. At it\u2019s heart however is a simple message.\nThis is a story about what faith can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nDaniel is good and honest. He\nis a God-fearing man, but he is beset by the corruption and hatred of\nthose around him. They want only to trick him and destroy his life\nand the influence and power they see him exercising at court. But\nDaniel is described as \u201cfaithful\u201d, and the evil desires of those\nwho are jealous of him come to nought at first, so they have to try\nsomething else. The only way they can get at Daniel is through his\nfaith in the God of the Israelites and Daniel of course is an exile,\na captive foreigner living under an imperial power. So his enemies\nseek to undermine his faith by making the observance of it a criminal\noffence. Daniel resists his adversaries prowling around him, and he\nends up in the middle of the lions\u2019 den, putting his life utterly\nin God\u2019s hands. Will he survive the night?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn his teaching, Jesus often\ntalks about the power of faith. \u201cYour faith has made you well\u201d he\nsays on more than one occasion to those who come for healing. He\nspeaks of faith even as small as a mustard seed, yet having the\npotential to grow into something wonderful \u2013 to move mountains or\nshelter all the birds of the air. In the parable of the sower, Jesus\nagain speaks of how faith may bear much fruit. Once again there is\nthe image of an \u2018evil one\u2019 prowling around snatching away the\nseed that is planted in the heart. There are other temptations too of\ncourse; the cares of the world, times of trouble and persecution, the\nlure of wealth and power \u2013 these things are like roaring lions\nseeking their prey, ready to gobble up the first few green shoots of\nfaith that emerge from the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut only those seeds planted\nin good, fertile loam or a steadfast heart, are able to flourish.\nDaniel is one such person in whom faith is strong. He has power to\nwithstand whatever is thrown at him and in the Letter to the Hebrews,\nhe is described as one of the historic heroes of the faith. But even\nmore important than heroes is the greater promise that is in Jesus\nhimself \u2013 which will make us all more than conquerors. Christ is\nthe sign of God\u2019s faithfulness to each one of us. In him we find\nthe strength to nurture our faith and let it grow and blossom and\nshine: in him alone we are protected from the evil one and the\nvicious predators without and within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWe are all sometimes\nchallenged by things that beset and besiege us. These things may not\ntake the form of a prowling lion, but there is plenty in today\u2019s\nworld to undermine and threaten our faith \u2013 hatred, malice, gossip,\npersecution, corruption, scepticism, apathy, to give but a few\nexamples. And in some places in the world, Christians are still\npersecuted for their faith. As they are steadfast and witness to the\nliving God, we must honour them by being steadfast in our prayers and\nconfident in the power of faith to achieve much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIt takes courage sometimes to\nbe a Christian in the world today, wherever we are. We can, though,\nbe assured that God is steadfast in his promises to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAt the end of our first story\nand after a worrying night, King Darius awakes to find Daniel alive\nand well. So he makes a proclamation to the whole world about the God\nwhose steadfast love endures for ever and who saved Daniel from the\nmouth of the lions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThanks be to God for his\nfaithfulness and his steadfast love for us, which is new every\nmorning and endures for ever and ever. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2nd Sunday before Advent \u2013 evening Sunday 17th November 2019 2 before Advent \u2013 evening Daniel 6 Matt.13. 1-9; 18-23 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs Can most of you remember the prayer from Compline that goes, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; … <\/p>\n

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