Verse: St Paul in Acts, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God just as all of you are today.” (22:3).

Why do I believe in God [or not]? How do I express this? You might think such questions are straightforward, but I think not. When it comes to who we are spiritually we tend to assume a lot. We dwell in our personal history and rarely stop to think about where we have come from.

Paul was clear in his identity: He was a Jew in the multi-racial Roman Empire, so he believed in one God not the many of Greek and Roman paganism. He was a Roman citizen which gave him many privileges. It is implied because he was born in a Roman province (If Jesus was a citizen he could not flogged without an appeal to Caesar. He would not have been crucified.) Paul was educated at the feet of Gamaliel a pharisee and leader in the Sanhedrin. Paul as a Roman citizen was free to travel through the empire and as an educated pharisee he could teach and preach in synagogues where-ever he went. We see this in the Book of Acts. Paul knew the OT scriptures and how to interpret them as a pharisee. It was a good start, but he had to re-think it all after becoming a follower of Christ.

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Apparently, there are 413 commandments in the Bible. Why so many? [you might ask] Well, there has to be at least one we can keep!

But there are some commonly assumed commandments that are not there. “Thou shalt not be angry” is not one of the 10 commandments (just do not take God’s name in vain). Nor is “Thou shalt not have conflict” (but try not to kill your neighbour).

Conflict is perfectly natural. As human beings we don’t always agree and, of course, some things matter and cannot be ignored. 

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Thought Experiment: You have forgotten your car keys and have to return to your house.  What would you would say to yourself. Hear the words, notice the tone. Were you kind or gentle on yourself? This will indicate whether you need to listen carefully to this sermon and perhaps download the workshop notes from GUC website to do some work on your self-care.

There is a story about a Tibetan monk who was held in jail for years by Chinese prison guards.  Later he was released and had an audience with the Dalai Lama.  He was asked about his time in prison and the monk said he faced danger a few times.  The Dalai Lama asked “What danger?” The monk replied, “Of losing compassion towards the Chinese.” We have a problem in that it is often hard for us to be compassionate to ourselves!

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3 GUC August 2022

Sometimes terrible things happen. Russia invades Ukraine. Employment is lost.  A medical diagnosis. The Bible is realistic and acknowledges this sad reality. Ecclesiastes “The days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’.” (12:1).

If somethings are beyond our control, what can we do? The Bible is clear that we can try to have a healthy attitude. Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not worry about your life, or what you will eat or drink… is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?… and can anyone by worrying add more than a single hour to your span of life?” and a little later, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matt 6: 25-28, 34).

Disappointments, losses and tragedies will challenge our faith. In this message I would like to look at two healthy responses. This is the third in series of sermons on mental health.

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Introduction

You have my permission to sleep through this sermon. Seriously! If you can fall asleep that easily, then you will not need to hear a word I will say. The topic is practical with tips about sleeping better and thinking about the spiritual significance.

Sleep is a welcome oblivion at the end of the day. A time to rest and be restored. Psalm 4:8

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

But not for all. Trying to get to sleep can become a psychological ‘battlefield’

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