Sermons to Self

by Christopher Ward

Overview

The Christian faith is difficult--intellectually, morally, and spiritually. People struggle to make sense of it, and to live it. Many give up. Sitting in the pew (an increasing rarity), with a Christian upbringing and education behind him, Christopher Ward finds the practice and the preaching of the church unhelpful in resolving these struggles. He is tempted to give up and reject it all. Before he does, however, he is determined to make one last attempt to explore what it all means to him, guided only by what he hears and reads in the Bible Sunday to Sunday. Christopher Ward takes the four readings appointed for each Sunday in one year and identifies those verses that have a particular resonance for him. He then explores his personal response to them, unaided by academic study or biblical commentary, and analyzes their cumulative impact on his thinking. This exercise results in unexpected discoveries, and new trains of thought, plus many frustrations and much perplexity. In the end, his struggles are rewarded by a realization that his faltering faith has more to support it than he first believed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498204217
Publisher:	Resource Publications (CA)
Publication date:	11/17/2014
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Christopher Ward is a speaker, writer, and charity trustee. He is a Methodist by upbringing but became an Anglican while at university. He has been Chief Executive of organizations in the private, public, and voluntary sectors in the UK. He speaks under the brand name "The Management Preacher" on a wide range of management and leadership issues, but particularly on how to make all work meaningful. He is the author of Company Courtesy (1990) and Meaningful Work (2011).

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction xiii

First Sunday of Advent - Anticipation and Expectation 1

Second Sunday of Advent - New World Order 4

Third Sunday of Advent - Patience 7

Fourth Sunday of Advent - Believing the Unbelievable 10

Christmas Day - Trappings, Traditions and Words 13

First Sunday of Christmas - Testing Times 16

Second Sunday of Christmas - Grace, Truth and Rejection 19

The Epiphany - Birth and Death 22 The Baptism of Christ (First Sunday or Epiphany) - Start of Life's Work 25

Second Sunday of Epiphany - Conundrums of Calling 28

Third Sunday or Epiphany - Rhetoric and Reason 31

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas) - Struggling Thoughts 34

Fourth Sunday Before Lent - Salt and Spirit 37

Third Sunday Before Lent - Tough Talking 40

Second Sunday Before Lent - Creation and Anxiety 43

Sunday Next Before Lent - Clouds of Not Knowing 46

Ash Wednesday - Ritual Reminders 49

First Sunday of Lent - Tempting Offers 52

Second Sunday of Lent - Uncomfortable Words 55

Third Sunday of Lent - Meat and Drink 58

Annunciation or Our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary - Questioning Acceptance 61

Fourth Sunday of Lent - Seeing and Believing 64

Fifth Sunday of Lent - Sorrowful Doubts 67

Palm Sunday - Triumph and Tragedy 70

Maundy Thursday - Significant Acts 73

Good Friday - Truth and Betrayal 76

Faster Day - Loss and Discovery 79

Second Sunday of Easter - Beyond Doubt 82

Third Sunday of Easter - Excited Understanding 85

Fourth Sunday of Easter - Herd Instincts 88

Fifth Sunday of Easter - Paths to Truth 91

Sixth Sunday of Easter - Groping in the Dark 94

Ascension Day - Rising to New Heights 97

Seventh Sunday of Faster/Sunday After Ascension Day - Humble Knowledge 100

Day of Pentecost/Whit Sunday - Varieties of Gilts 103

Trinity Sunday - What About God? 106

First Sunday after Trinity - Losing and Finding 109

Second Sunday After Trinity - Prophets of Good 112

Third Sunday After Trinity - Burdens of Guilt 115

Fourth Sunday After Trinity - Fruitful Seeds 118

Fifth Sunday After Trinity - Mixed Messages 121

Sixth Sunday After Trinity - Painful Images 124

Seventh Sunday After Trinity - Enough Food 127

Eighth Sunday After Trinity - Storms of Faith 130

Ninth Sunday After Trinity - Crumbs of Learning 133

Tenth Sunday After Trinity - Skills and Belief 136

Eleventh Sunday After Trinity - Harsh Words 139

Twelfth Sunday After Trinity - Love and Orgies 142

Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity - Forgiving Ourselves 145

Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity - Personal Worth 148

Fifteenth Sunday After Trinity - Real Authority 151

Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity - Proper Fruit 154

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity - Reluctant Guests 157

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity - Paying Our Dues 160

Last Sunday After Trinity - Sales Talk 163

All Saints Day - Personal Failures 166

Fourth Sunday Before Advent - Ends and Beginnings 169

Third Sunday Before Advent - Be Prepared 172

Second Sunday Before Advent - Hidden Talents 175

Sunday Next Before Advent - Touching God 178

Conclusions 181

Index of Bible Extracts 185

Index of Themes 189

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The author has listened long and hard to sermons and church statements, waiting to hear something relevant to Monday to Friday realities. This work comes out of his own frustrations, as he calls his own bluff to see what emerges directly from lectionary readings. The result probably surprised him as much as others. Here is testament to the vivid and still contemporary challenges of many robust biblical exchanges, not least in the words and actions of Jesus. It is radical in the true meaning of the word—coming from a digging up of the roots covered over by the soil of centuries of internal church culture."
—Robin Morrison, Bishop's Adviser for Church and Society, Barry, Wales, UK

"Christopher Ward's fascinating book invites us all to look anew at what we believe and what is the relevance to us today of the Bible. In an increasingly secular world, it challenges us to find a third way between the twin poles of belief and unbelief, to, in his words, 'have faith in our doubts.'"
—Colin Heyman, lay preacher, Cardiff, Wales, UK

"For those like me who toddle off to church and are frequently bemused by the lessons of the day, this is a fresh, insightful approach by an intelligent layman. . . . It's a questioning, questing book about what the Bible says we are here for."
—Colin Luke, film director, Mosaic Films, London, UK

Editorial Reviews

"The author has listened long and hard to sermons and church statements, waiting to hear something relevant to Monday to Friday realities. This work comes out of his own frustrations, as he calls his own bluff to see what emerges directly from lectionary readings. The result probably surprised him as much as others. Here is testament to the vivid and still contemporary challenges of many robust biblical exchanges, not least in the words and actions of Jesus. It is radical in the true meaning of the word—coming from a digging up of the roots covered over by the soil of centuries of internal church culture."
—Robin Morrison, Bishop's Adviser for Church and Society, Barry, Wales, UK

"Christopher Ward's fascinating book invites us all to look anew at what we believe and what is the relevance to us today of the Bible. In an increasingly secular world, it challenges us to find a third way between the twin poles of belief and unbelief, to, in his words, 'have faith in our doubts.'"
—Colin Heyman, lay preacher, Cardiff, Wales, UK

"For those like me who toddle off to church and are frequently bemused by the lessons of the day, this is a fresh, insightful approach by an intelligent layman. . . . It's a questioning, questing book about what the Bible says we are here for."
—Colin Luke, film director, Mosaic Films, London, UK

From the Publisher