Paul Long's Ramblings

  Another sermon ppt notes from last year. On Anxiety based on Psalm 31. Hope this helps someone. 

  As I write this - to be posted next week when life goes back to yet another difficult "new "normal", New Zealand (especially the upper North Island) is still undergoing (hopefully the end) the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. As I reflect and pray about the situation, my mind naturally goes to Bible passages such as the one where Jesus calms the storm. So I pulled out a sermon I preached (15 September 2019) on this passage.     Mark 4:35-41 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind...

  I am currently preparing to launch a new sermon series in my church on the Beatitudes.  One of the reasons I chose this series and wish to preach an introductory sermon to start of the series is my concern that there is a lot of misunderstanding about God's blessings, and happiness among Christians. Things like being blessed means just having a trouble free life, financial wealth, good health etc.  So as I delve deeper into this subject and try to clarify my own thoughts, knowing that a little mist in the pew will be a thick fog in the pews (to paraphrase a well-known preaching aphorism), I came across the following from Kenneth Bailey in his book " Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels" Here's a part of his helpful observation. In Hebrew (as in Greek) there are two words that are translated into English as “blessed.” The two Greek words parallel the Hebrew words, and it is important to understand the differences between them. One of the...

1 March Pastor’s notes Giving to Caesar and giving to God Last’s week’s WHAM verse of the week was Matthews 22:17-22. The context is interesting (read v.15-22) as two normally opposing groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, joined together to try to trap Jesus. The former were strict nationalistic Jewish religious teachers, and were against Roman occupation. And the latter were from a Jewish political party who sympathized with the Herodian rulers from Rome.  Natural enemies became “friends” to lay a trap for their common enemy Jesus. The plan they thought of was brilliant and fool proof (at least they thought it was). The Pharisees sent their disciples so it would look as if the question was a genuine query. They would flatter Jesus to get his guard down and then hit Jesus with a question where to answer either yes or no would place Jesus in a most difficult and dangerous position. “Yes” would make him seem like a traitor and a non- patriotic Jew. “No” would gi...

A question on Christian tradition Pastor’s notes for 22 Feb 2015 Last week’s WHAM verse(s) of the week were 1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? (Matt 15:1-3) Matthew 15:1-19 is personally challenging for me.  The issue was a complaint by religious leaders as to why Jesus’ disciples were not more stringent in keeping the tradition of the Jewish elders. The “tradition of the elders” is a reference to a body of oral traditions that was passed down from generation to generation. The intention was noble – to help the people obey God’s commands. The tradition of ceremonial cleanness had the purpose of reminding the people about the need for purity of heart because God is a holy God. This was a good tradition. But sadly it...

Pastor’s notes for 15 Feb 2015 Last week’s WHAM verse of the week was:   When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. ( Matt 8:10). Do read Matthew 8:5-13 for the context if you have not done so. I mentioned this passage in passing in my sermon last month on the humanity of Jesus and how he was able to be surprised.  But it is actually more than surprised. The Greek word “thaumazo” translated “marvelled” has the meaning of wonder, admiration, AMAZEMENT. Ponder for a moment. This pagan centurion had faith that was able to actually amaze the Son of God. (This is an example of how the word “amazing” should be used!) Compare the centurions understanding of prayer and faith in comparison to what we see prevalent in ancient times and even in the church today. 1.       He understood the concept of authority and extended his understanding to the true and comp...

Pastor’s notes for 8 Feb 2015 I hope you have been enjoying the WHAM Bible reading challenge. If you haven’t started, do not lose heart. Just join in this week. Last Sunday’s WHAM verse(s) of the week was 3  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matt 7:3-5) I selected it as it is in the context of a sadly oft quoted verse, taken out of context and with the wrong attitude:  “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. (Matt 7:1-2) Verse 1-2 seems to teach it is not our place to judge anyone. And verses 3-5, that to do so wou...

* It has been a very long time since I posted in this blog. Hope I can be more consistent this year but it is not a New Year's resolution :-) For Pastor’s notes 1 Feb 2015 (i.e. my church's Sunday bulletin) WHAM and the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Programme This Sunday we start on a journey / challenge as a church that hopefully all of us will undertake together: to read through the Bible in a year. To be more accurate, we will be attempting to read through the whole OT once, and the NT and Psalms twice. To assist us, we will be using a Bible reading programme created by a Pastor named Robert Murray M’Cheyne.  A little about M’Cheyne might help inspire you. M’Cheyne passed away in 1843 before he even turned 30. Yet as young as he was, he was known throughout Scotland as  “the saintly M’Cheyne”. We know of him because a friend and colleague Andrew Bonar collected his sermons, messages and papers and published them in a book about his life. Here is an excerpt from t...

My Pastor's notes for the 6 November 2011 bulletin To read click HERE

Pastor's notes for the 23 Oct 2011 bulletin. To view click HERE

Pastor's notes for 19 June 2011 To read, click HERE

Will Malaysia be next? Is this too far fetched a situation? God have mercy! Call to Ban Bible Bothers Pakistan’s Christians Monday, June 6, 2011 (3:47 am) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/uknews/terrorism-in-the- uk/8558499/Universities- complacent-over-Islamic- radicals-Theresa-May-warns. html By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News International Correspondent Islamabad, Pakistan ( Worthy News )-- Pakistani Christians are troubled by a Bible ban from radical Muslim clerics whose own prophet had never outlawed it. Nevertheless, Muslim clerics recently asked the Supreme Court of Pakistan to rule that some scriptures have been added to the Bible and that they violate the Islamic nation's blasphemy laws by depicting biblical figures revered by Muslims as flawed; they allege that these additions were inserted to show the prophets guilty of "a variety of moral crimes, which undermine the sanctity of the holy figures." Although Muslims accept the Pentateuch, the Psalms and the ...

Thanks Dr. Ng Kam Weng for posting this! http://libertysentinel.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/why-defacement-of-the-alkitab-is-desecration/ Why Defacement of the Alkitab is Desecration By nkw Some government officials have claimed that Christians are making an unnecessary fuss over the recent stamping of the Alkitab seized in Port Klang and Kuching. After all, they say, the Government also requires copies of the Quran to be chopped/stamped with a notice of government approval before they are sold in the shops. Even some Christians also wonder why such a big deal is being made about the stamping since Christians, unlike Muslims, do not regard printed copies of the Bible with reverence. It is just a printed text. What matters is the message conveyed by the Bible. This article seeks to address the failure to understand the reason for rejecting the stamping of the Alkitab.  The terms of the debate need first be clearly defined to ensure accuracy in my analysis and coherence o...