Here are my pulpit notes from the 1100 service at St Thomas Minnis Bay today:
Leviticus 19:9-18
"Love your neighbour as yourself" (18) Why? Because God says "I am the
LORD".
1. BECAUSE I AM THE LORD: 9-10
a. The cereal harvest is to be shared.
Jesus is the living Bread which came down from heaven (John 6:51). He is to be
shared. Bread means life for the poor and for the alien. The Gospel means life
for all. We must not hog it all for ourselves.
b. The grape harvest is to be shared.
Jesus is the true Vine of Heaven (John 15:1). He is to be shared. His Blood
was shed for the life of the world. It was not poured out for the Jews only,
but for poor and alien Gentiles too, such as we. This communion Bread and Wine
are spiritual food and drink (John 6:55). Jesus is LORD. The Salvation Army
motto is "soup before soul" (cf James 2:15-16).
2. BECAUSE I AM THE LORD: 11-14
a. Honour the bosses and the self-employed. 11-12
Be scrupulously honest in all your business activities. Let your word be your
bond. Particularly vicars and churchpeople - the world doesn't expect you to
tell a lie. They blame God if you do!
b. Honour the workers. 13
Always pay the tradesmen promptly. Refund people's expenses on your behalf
promptly. They can't afford to take you to court - but they can complain to
God about you!
c. Honour the disabled. 14
Most would prefer to be blind than deaf: they get all the sympathy. Many are
spiritually deaf and blind. Don't curse them by hiding the Gospel from them.
They need to hear. They need to see. "If our Gospel be hid, it is hid from
them that be lost" (2 Corinthians 4:3).
3. BECAUSE I AM THE LORD: 15-18
a. Always judge your neighbour fairly. 15-16
You may never be a judge, but any voter may be a juror. We must all stand
before the judgment seat of God: "With what judgment you judge, you shall be
judged" (Matthew 7:2).
b. Always counsel your neighbour frankly. 17
Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). If you do not warn your neighbour,
you share his guilt as an accessory when he is condemned. If he won't listen
to you, "tell it to the church" (Matthew 18:15-18). We must warn of hell-fire
as John Baptist did (Luke 3:3-9).
c. Always love your neighbour freely. 18
"Vengeance is mine: I will repay, says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). Christ loved
us freely, forgave us freely. Our sins are forgiven, "as we forgive those that
sin against us".
__________________________________________________________________________
In Christ,
Ben
--
Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm
