Sermons

How do we make sense of the recent earthquake in Christchurch that has been dubbed by it’s Prime Minister; “New Zealands darkest hour.” It’s human to ask why did this happen. To try and make sense of a tragedy  the has affected our Tasman cousins profoundly.

Popular responses run too; "It’s a cruel twist of fate,” “Mother Nature has dealt us a blow,” “The cards where stacked against us.”

None of these responses really help us. The fail to quiet our anxious hearts and give comfort  in our time of grief.

How could such a thing happen and so many innocent people suffer.

We naturally asked why? Then often we look for someone to blame. Why is it that we are so quick to blame God when things go wrong, yet we totally ignore Him when life is good?

Our response to dish it out to God is proof that deep down we believe He really does exist. How sad that it takes a tragedy for us to acknowledge Him. And then it's wrongly!

Does Christianity have a response to natural disasters and human suffering? Or do events like this just discredit Christianity because it seems so unchristian!

The Apostle Paul in the book of Romans tells us that God is the creator of the world and that all that we see around us shouts his existence.  It also tells us that we choose to ignore the evidence before us.  It also goes on to tell us that God will one day execute judgement to right all the wrongs we commit.

Again, isn't it curious that whenever we see injustice and oppression in the world we are quick to seek justice?  Surely, this is another proof that we a made in God's image.  For God seeks justice also.

Why does God allow evil in the world? Is there an answer?  Can we reconcile the fact that if God is a God of love how can He allow so much suffering and evil in the world?  This week has shocked us to the core.  Our sense of morality and frailty and the brevity of life have hit us hard. The graphic images of dead bodies forces us to ask; "Why God, why have you allowed this to happen."

The Bible tells us that from beginning to end we are not neutral beings. The reason is rather shocking to us humans and very sobering.

The message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is that we cannot understand ourselves or what is happening in this world apart from it's message and humbly submitting ourselves to the God of this Bible.  It’s message is simple; We are in rebellion to our Creator but Jesus Christ came into this world to bring us back into a right relationship with Him.

But the Bible also answers our most basic questions...

Why we are here?

The one God is a community – a Trinity of three persons who each perfectly know and defer to one another and love one another and therefore have infinite joy and glory and peace. God made a good, beautiful world filled with beings who share in this life of joy and peace by knowing, serving, and loving God and one another.

What went wrong?

Instead, we chose to center our lives on ourselves and on the pursuit of things rather than on God and others. This has led to the disintegration of creation and the loss of peace – within ourselves, between ourselves, and in nature itself. War, hunger, poverty, injustice, racism, bitterness, meaninglessness, despair, sickness, and death all are symptoms.

What puts the world right?

But though God lost us he determined to win us back. He entered history in the person of Jesus in order to deal with all the causes and results of our broken relationship with him. By his sacrificial life and death he both exemplifies the life we must live and rescues us from the life we have lived. By his resurrection he proved who he was and showed us the future — new bodies and a completely renewed and restored new heavens and new earth in which the world is restored to full joy, justice, peace, and glory.

How we can be part of putting the world right?

Between his first coming to win us and his last coming to restore us we live by faith in him. When we believe and rely on Jesus' work and record (rather than ours) for our relationship to God, his healing kingdom power comes upon us and begins to work through us. Christ gives us a radically new identity, freeing us from both self-righteousness and self-condemnation. This liberates us to accept people we once excluded, and to break the bondage of things (even good things) that once drove us. He puts us into a new community of people which gives a partial, but real, foretaste of the healing of the world that God will accomplish when Jesus returns

Why did the earthquake in Christchurch happen? Because we live in a world affected by the fall and because God is warning us of a greater judgement . it is also God’s wake up call that we are living independent of him. We need to turn back to Him in sorrow for ignoring Him and worshipping other God’s. He alone deserves to rule our lives. He made us to reflex back to Him is character and we see that in Jesus Christ.

But the good news through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is that God Our creator offers us a new start to come back to Him and know Him anew as our Father.

God is calling you to come back to him now..

Here are some words to say to Him

God,

I have lived my life ignoring you and admit I am a rebel against you. God I am so sorry for living independent of you. I am an idolater because I don’t worship you above everything else and everyone else. I deserve death and hell when I die but I now believe you can save me from your judgment and hell. I want to come back home and be your child.

I believe you have rights over me because you made me, but you are also holy and just and therefore must punish my sin. I thank you that as some one who is loving and merciful and gracious you sent your son Jesus Christ to live the life I could never live and die the death I could not die. Thank you that Jesus took your anger for my sins. You punished Him by placing all my sins on Him.

Through His death he because a sacrifice so I can enjoy your forgiveness for all my sins, past present and future. Come now and fill me with your Holy Spirit and make me new from the inside out. Thank you Jesus because now you are my Saviour and King and I have eternal life. Amen