Uneducated & Ordinary - Sunday 30th May 2016

When Peter was interrogated by the chief priests in Jerusalem (for causing a stir in the Temple after healing a crippled man), the elite of the Jewish society were somewhat surprised to note that Peter was “uneducated and ordinary”.
Most of Jesus’ disciples were uneducated and ordinary when they met him, so this comment can easily be overlooked. But it is worth a second thought.
After three years of being Jesus’ disciple, Peter still came over as being ‘uneducated’. That’s interesting because discipleship was primarily an educational process. Clearly, Jesus did not teach the intellectual intricacies of their religion, or at least, not in a way that other intellectuals recognised.
In a similar vein, after three years of following Jesus - witnessing the extraordinary things he did, and doing some fairly extraordinary things himself - Peter still came across as being ordinary. Jesus wasn’t in the business of taking people away from their roots into a rarified sanctity. His message was that God’s kingdom could be found right where they were. After three years of Jesus' company, Peter was still ordinary.
The medieval church was obsessed with saints - extraordinarily holy people. The Church of England today expects its clergy to have a university degree. But God chooses to do his work using ordinary and uneducated people. Do you qualify?

Honest Sinners - Sunday 24th April 2016

St Peter is widely heralded as the founder of the Christian church, a great among the great saints of Christianity. However, like many people who become celebrated, his beginnings were very ordinary.
A quick read of Peter’s story can lead to an assumption that Jesus simply turned up one day, said, “Follow me”, and off Peter went. But that isn’t how it was. Peter encountered Jesus at various times and in various places over those opening months, and while Jesus repeated his invitation for Peter to become a disciple, Peter remained unconfident about his own suitability. By the time Jesus guided Peter to an astounding catch of fish which nearly sank his precious boat (Luke 5), Peter had been hanging around Jesus, on and off, for some months. Still Peter felt himself to be unsuitable: "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
However, Peter being a ‘sinner’ didn’t disqualify him from Jesus’ group, and neither did his underlying insecurities. Jesus expected to be working with sinners, and preferred honest ones.
Many of us, like Peter, disqualify ourselves from actively serving God. We tell ourselves, and God, that we are not good enough. We may convince ourselves with this message, but we won’t convince God.

Suitably unqualified - Sunday 17th April 2016

God does not always choose the most obviously qualified person, when he is looking for something to be done. Indeed, God seems to be more likely to choose the someone who is evidently unqualified. When he was seeking a leader for his chosen people, he opted for Moses - a murderer on the run. When he was looking for a mighty warrior to defeat the encroaching Midianites, he chose Gideon - who was hiding in a wine press. When he was seeking a king for Israel he selected David - a shepherd boy. And when he was seeking someone to spread Jesus’ message to the gentile world, he picked Paul - the chief persecutor of Jesus’ disciples.
There is a pattern here.
So, when we are considering what God might do in our church, or in our community, there is no point waiting for him to send along the perfect person for the task. That isn’t his style. More likely, God may be measuring you up for the challenge. And if you feel desperately unqualified for the task, you may just be the person God is looking for.
What is God asking you to do for him?