Bible Sunday Sermon Outline 2015 The Bible – God’s wisdom for living Psalm 19.7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. (ESV)

Introduction This year, as we celebrate Bible Sunday, we take a look at how the Bible views itself and its role. There’s something beautiful about a well-timed riposte – something powerful in the words spoken by someone whose life experiences and choices back them up. All too often, though, we find our own words shot through with inconsistency and hypocrisy. Read: Psalm 19

Universal Wisdom At first glance, Psalm 19 appears to have two distinct topics; the first half (19.1̵6) describes how God reveals himself in creation, while the second half (19.7̵13) explains how he does this in his law. However, there is a subtle thread woven through it which hints that there is more here than first meets the eye. The psalm begins with the ‘inaudible speech’ pouring forth from the heavens day and night (19.1̵4). This speech is joined by the testimony found in God’s law (19.7). Ultimately, the question is posed whether the words of those who take up this psalm will indeed complement this chorus already raised in God’s honour. (19.14).

The sun, moon and stars praise God The celestial objects bear witness before all earth’s inhabitants to God’s superlative artistry and awesome power, simply by doing what they were designed to do. The earth’s rotation is so dependable, we mark our days and hours by it. The sun’s power is seen in everything from the oppressive heat of summer, to the energy generated by solar panels, or even in the crowds that come out whenever it does. Its danger is felt in everything from the sting of sunburn, to the solar storms many times the size of the earth, or its blinding brightness – and all this at an average of 93 million miles away! If its size, average distance from earth, the speed of earth’s rotation, or its rotational axis were changed very much at all, life couldn’t exist on earth. Just by being what they are and doing what they do, the sun and the earth function perfectly to sustain life. The last verse of our psalm (19.14) reveals the writer’s heart cry – that his words and thoughts would be acceptable to God; implicitly – as much as the testimony of the sun. Discuss with the person sitting next to you the aspect of God’s creation that you find the most amazing.

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God’s instructions for living Clearly though, not all of creation functions so perfectly and, as a result, is deprived of a large measure of the beauty and joy inherent in its own design. Unlike humans, the sun and stars have no free will. That’s why, for our words to reflect the dependability, display the beauty, and elicit as much joy in others as they do, we require God’s torah. Though often translated ‘law’, torah more often connotes ‘instruction’ rather than simply legal material. Show some instruction guides which are helpful, and some which are not (because of incorrect translation, not addressing the questions you are asking, being too small to be useful or too big to wade through etc.). Ask the congregation to comment/tell of their experiences. But the torah is God’s instructions on how to live life to its fullest – as it was designed to be. It’s simply the best manual for life there ever could be.

Transformed by torah But how can God’s instruction found in the Bible transform our own words? Psalm 19.7 mentions God’s torah is perfect. This implies a sense of completeness and finishing well. Basically, it does what it says on the tin. In contrast, how often do we not follow through with our words, or say ‘yes’ so others will think well of us? Read: Matthew 21.28̵̵-31, the parable of the two sons

What does it mean to be perfect? See Psalm 19.7. With respect to people, however, to 'be perfect' or 'blameless' or 'whole' is not necessarily to be sinless, but rather to be open to the torah of the Lord on which human life constantly depends. Because God’s torah fully reflects how he designed the universe, and especially human hearts, to function, it can keep us from staking our hopes on wishful thinking or even educated guesses about how life works.

Are you simple minded? Rather, it can make wise the simple-minded (19.7). This isn’t referring to the intelligent and the daft. The ‘simple-minded’ is, more literally, the ‘open-minded’. Unlike today, ‘open-minded’ doesn’t just refer to someone who hears other points of view fairly, but rather one who is so un-anchored at the foundational level of the basic assumptions in their thought, that they are capable of being led down the primrose path to destruction. In a word, gullible. Consequently, God’s torah helps us stay in tune not only with how he designed us to work, but also confronts us with how we actually do function in our broken states. It also reorients us to our hope: God’s power to restore us. When we live without God’s torah saturating our thoughts, we commit both hidden and presumptuous errors (19.12-13). That is, we fail to see our own blind spots, and act with an inflated sense of our own importance.

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In 1800 a poor Welsh girl called Mary Jones walked 26 miles to buy a Bible. The story of her walk inspired Thomas Charles to found the British and Foreign Bible Society. Bibles were scarce and expensive, and as Mary was from a poor weaving family she had to save. When Mary met Thomas Charles, her determination to have her own Bible profoundly impacted him, and he wanted to help other people who – like Mary – longed for Bibles, but faced barriers in getting them. Today, Bible Society continues in this mission of increasing the use and circulation of the Scriptures. See http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/uploads/content/projects/mary_jones_story. pdf for the full story.

Eye-openers The effect of God’s instruction can be illustrated with the ‘opening’ of the eyes which occurred when Adam and Eve first disobeyed their Maker. Eve (and her husband ‘with her’ Genesis 3.6) saw the fruit of the tree God had forbidden them to eat from not only as beautiful and nutritious, but also as ‘desirable to make one wise’. They sought wisdom, much as we continue to do, apart from God’s instructions. The result was that their eyes were ‘opened’ knowing good and evil. This phrase is associated with an age of moral accountability (cf Isaiah 7.15-16) and God himself says that they have become like him, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3.22). Most theologians do not consider this to be an ability to make moral choices, because this would have rendered the command not to eat of the forbidden fruit pointless. They couldn’t choose to obey/disobey if they needed the fruit itself to choose! Rather, the first couple embraced a sense of moral autonomy in determining what was good and evil. God had pronounced the goodness of creation, and the ‘not goodness’ of the man’s aloneness, both with respect to creation’s purpose and mandate. One cannot be fruitful and multiply by oneself! In contrast, the human couple had attempted to determine what was beneficial and detrimental, solely for themselves.

True vision Far from enlightening them, however, they became wise, but only in their own newly ‘opened’ eyes. Determining their own good prevented them from receiving the good God had put into the universe itself. When Adam and Eve disregarded God’s instruction, it affected how they saw themselves in a negative way. Their nakedness, which had formerly been part of what was deemed ‘very good’, and had caused no shame (Genesis 2.25), now produced in them guilt and shame. Nothing had changed about their bodies – just their perception of them. From this, we find that following torah allows us to see and understand things as they truly are – as God sees them.

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The early autumn sunshine isn’t reaching the pavement of Victoria Street where 40-year-old Mark Alder sits. He’s wrapped in a blue sleeping bag, wearing a thick black jumper and a stripy hat. People are streaming past him as if he’s invisible. ‘People think that if you’re homeless it’s your fault,’ Mark says. ‘And it’s true that there are some people who get into drink and drugs and all that and end up making themselves homeless. But it also just happens to some people.’ Mark was living with his girlfriend in Newcastle. Then the relationship turned sour and he found himself packing a bag and leaving. ‘I wanted to get away and start afresh,’ he says. Instead, he found himself in London’s busy Victoria station at 6pm with nowhere to go. He’s slept rough ever since. Mark carries two large bags that are mostly full of bedding. But deep in one bag is his Bible. He was given it a few months ago and reads it eight hours a day. He’s on his 14th read through. ‘The thing that sticks out to me is how much of a nice bloke Jesus was. That’s the only way I can put it, nothing was a bother to him. I would like to be like that.’ Reading the Bible he says, ‘gives me peace, it gives me solace; it gives me something to believe in. I like what I’m reading’.

Restoration But, though God’s instruction is necessary for our lives to function and our minds to perceive as they should, it can also revive our souls. When we’ve selfishly gone our own way, and reaped the rewards of it, God’s torah can lead us back into a full relationship with Him. In 2 Timothy 3.15, it tells us of, ‘… the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus’’ (ESV). In reading, meditating and acting on God’s instruction, we are led to look to Jesus to restore our relationship with God the Father, who reorients us to how we were meant to live. Think: How can you speak out about God’s goodness in the coming week? How can you help to ‘Pass it on’?

Speaking out Finally, as awesome are the sun, moon and stars, the testimony they provide to God’s creativity, goodness and power is a silent one. Even God’s torah, which puts this testimony into words which condition and inform our response, is still oddly silent. That’s where the psalmist’s true concern lies. ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.’ (Psalm 19.14, ESV). By taking up God’s instruction, we not only can frame and understand ourselves and our world better, but also God himself. Rather than a disappointed deity standing aloof from us in his demand for perfection, we have one whose passion is to restore a relationship with us, and the wisdom and joy of life that come with it. It is in discovering (and rediscovering!) this God through his instruction in the Bible that we are moved to testify to his goodness, power and love. And unlike the sun, moon, stars and even the torah, we have a voice.

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Action point: 82% of the UK population think the Bible might be a useful book of guidance and advice or beautiful literature or the word of God. How then do we respond to the opportunity individually and collectively? Source: Post religious Britain: The faith of the faithless (Theos, 2012) Do we speak or do we keep silent? If even the heavens are telling the glory of God (Psalm 19.1), perhaps we can ‘Pass it on’ too.

Brian Howell, Dean of Studies and Research, Bible Society