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Being God’s Beloved: Day 2: Who is your God?

Being God’s Beloved: Reflections on God’s Love.

Where do we start with a journey like this? Since our goal is to be God’s beloved, we should start with God, shouldn’t we? This is one of the important things that I realised when I started imagining this book. Initially I thought this would be a book about love – meditations on love. But as I went along, I began to realise that a book about being loved by God is not so much about love, as it is about God. God is the one who does the loving – it is God who loves us, not some abstract notion of love.

So this book is actually about God – our topic is God – the God who loves us. And that, of course, raises the fundamental question of who is God. If God is a God of love, then the idea of God loving us ought not be that difficult. But if God is a God of something else, then the idea of God loving us can be quite a challenge.

So, here’s the question for you as you read and reflect today. Who is your God?

Some will object to this question. “God is God,” they will say. “There is no ‘your God’. There is only ‘God’.” They may fear that we are creating God in our own image. They are right, in one sense. God is who God is – “I am who I am” (Ex 3:14). How we see God, who God is to us, does not change God. God is God’s own person. We do not get to dictate or even shape God’s character. And creating a personal image of God for ourselves that bears no relationship to the God who is, is not a smart thing to do.

But, we know God primarily in the context of our personal relationship with God. Yes, we can and do learn about God through God’s working in history, particularly through what is revealed in the Bible. And yes, God is who God is, independent of God’s relationship with me or you. But primarily, we know God as God relates to us. This is not so peculiar. It is true for all our relationships. We see people through our own eyes – we see them in the context of our relationship with them. All true knowing of people is relational – we know in relationship.

I am a university professor. If you asked my students who I am, they’d probably say I am a strict and demanding person. I have high expectations of them, I’m not easily satisfied, I’m pedantic about spelling and referencing, I demand punctuality and professionalism. (I see myself as also warm, supportive, responsive and helpful, but I’m not sure these are the qualities most of them would tell you about if you asked, “Who is your lecturer?”) I’m also a lay preacher at my church. If you asked my parishioners who I am, they’d probably say I am a warm, engaging, patient, listening and thoughtful person. (At least, that’s what I think they’d say if you asked, “Who is your lay preacher?”) These sound like two different people, don’t they? Truly, though, I am the same person – lecturer, lay preacher, father, husband, friend, employee, son, writer – Adrian is who Adrian is. But Adrian is experienced as a different person by different people.

People know us, and form a picture of who we are, in the context of their relationship with us. In the same way, we get to know people and form a picture of who they are, in the context of our relationship with them. That is how we know people.

In exactly the same way, we get to know God and form a picture of who God is in the context of our relationship with God. Our experience of God is who God is to us. And our experience of God, if authentic, points to something in heart of God. God may be different things to different people, because God meets us where we are, with our hopes and fears, with our experiences and scars. But we should recognise that there may be more to God than our own experience of God – God is multifaceted and we may have seen only a few of those facets.

So, as we engage with the question of who is our God, we look to our experience of and relationship with God, because this provides us with the most immediate insights into God. But we should also leave space to learn that God may be more, indeed, that God is more than what we have experienced. There is an ongoing journey of discovery open to us.

But there is more. It takes two to tango. It is not just that God meets each of us uniquely in the context of a unique relationship. It is also that we, ourselves, are unique, bringing ourselves into the relationship with God. Who we are, what we have experienced in life, what we have learned over the years, influences how we see God. For better or for worse, we do not see God as God truly is. We see God through the eyes of experience.

Our backgrounds shape, and sometimes distort, how we see God. Some of us, for example, were molested or hurt in various ways as children by our fathers or by father figures. This can influence how we see God, particularly when God is presented to us as Father. For some of us, God becomes the good parent who shows us what we ought to have experienced from our fathers. This can be healing and restoring – God saves us from bad fathering. For others, God is tainted by our painful experiences and it is hard to pray, “Our Father in heaven”. Every mention of God as father can evoke trauma and fear, ultimately destroying our relationship with God.

So, this question, “Who is your God?” speaks not only to God, but also ourselves. It requires us to look in the mirror and ask, “Who am I?” We need to open ourselves to the possibility that we may be distorting God because of our experiences or learning. Perhaps our picture of God is not authentic.

But there is still more! How we see God, who God is to us, changes us! We become who we are, in part, by how we see God. Our image of God is very important to our own development as human beings, as social beings and as beings in relation to God. So this question, “Who is your God?”, is important for yourself.

Let us then come back to this question. Who is your God? Or if you prefer, Who is God to you?

We need to find a place where we can experience God authentically, where we have a relationship with God that is true and genuine, so that who God is to us becomes more closely aligned with who God really is. A good place to do that is in the pages of the Bible. One can also do this in nature, in conditions of poverty, in a community of faith, through adversity – we can and do encounter God authentically in many contexts. But an important place is in the pages of scripture. This is because in the Scripture, we encounter God in relation to other people. And we begin to see God’s self-revelation over many years. As we see God in action, in fellowship with people, we begin to see God.

The problem with the Bible, however, is that God is multifaceted and varied. We can easily pull out passages where God is vengeful, wrathful, violent, dismissive, and hypersensitive. And we could build a picture of God on those texts. Many have done so, and many of us struggle with the remnants of these images as we relate to God today.

So, I suggest that instead of looking at small individual passages, we need to look at the broad sweep of history, of extended passages and recurring themes in the Bible, of the entire Bible story. It is as we step back from the details and look at the whole, that we begin to get a clearer sense of who God is. And as we do that, we begin to develop our experience of who our God is, of who God is to us.

As I have done this, I have increasingly been struck by God’s love. While there are many examples of God not behaving lovingly, the broad biblical narrative – the Bible story – is a great love story. God repeatedly shows God’s love for individuals and nations and the whole world. God’s love is the dominant theme of the Bible.

It is my hope that as we continue on this journey together, as you reflect on the God who is revealed to us in our lives and in the Bible, that you will find an answer to this question, “Who is your God?” And that, perhaps, you will discover that your God is the one who loves you.

Meditation for the Day

Try to put into words (or if you prefer, into a picture or music or dance) who God is to you.

Prayer for the Day

Lord God, I ask that you reveal yourself to me in new and authentic ways today. Help me to discover more of who you. Open my heart, open my eyes, to perceive you, to move into a deeper relationship with you.

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Being God’s Beloved: Day 1: Preface

Being God’s Beloved: Reflections on God’s Love

I am delighted that you have decided to start this 40-day devotional with me during Lent. It will be a journey that we take together as we immerse ourselves in the truth that we are much loved by God.

We all surely know that God loves us. But over the years, as I’ve listened to many people, and also as I have listened to myself, I have come to believe that while we ‘know’ that God’s loves us, many of us don’t really know God’s love. There is an intellectual or cognitive knowing that we have, because we read it in the Bible and we celebrate it particularly at Christmas and Easter. But that truth has often not sunk below our brain into our mouth, our heart, our gut, our hands and our feet.

My training is in clinical social work, and so I tend to interpret this quite psychologically. Many of us have been well schooled, from childhood, to doubt ourselves. Those messages we have learned as children are deeply engrained in our bones: You never do things properly; you always mess up; why can’t you be more like so and so; if only you…; I’m disappointed in you. Probably in most instances, these kinds of messages were not intended to break down, yet they remain in the underlying fabric of our psyche, of our spirit, and interfere with our openness to receiving, knowing and accepting God’s love.

Many of us have had these messages reinforced in our childhood faith in the church. We have been taught that we are terrible sinners, that God cannot stand to be in the presence of sin, that even the very best that we do is like filthy rags, that we always fall short, that God’s wrath is upon us, that we deserve eternal flames, and so on. There is biblical and theological truth in these messages. But they are lopsided, overemphasising our inadequacy and reinforcing our psychological vulnerability.

Ultimately, for many of us, we come into adulthood with a nagging feeling that God cannot love us. That we are unlovable. That we are damaged goods. And when we do mess up in our faith, which we all do, at least on occasion, this nagging feeling crows in triumph. And sometimes that makes it hard to return to God – we are such failures and so useless, God would be better off without us.

And so, I have been wondering for some time what our lives would be like if we really, really, really believed, deep in the core of our being, that we were much loved by God. How would we be different if this truth was not just a loosely held cognitive belief, but also a deeply held certainty?

I suspect we’d have a much more intimate and consistent relationship with God, because we’d experience and trust in God’s abiding love. We’d be less likely to sin, because we’d be more cautious about grieving God. We’d experience less anxiety, because even (or especially) when times are hard we’d be certain that God is present and concerned. We’d be more generous, because of an abundance of love that enables us to share more love with others. We’d be better witnesses to those around us, because there would be less toxin and more joy in our faith.

Being God’s Beloved is intended to lead you through a series of reflections on how much you are loved by God. It has a clear agenda – to convince you of this fact! It will speak to less happy topics, such as sin and wrath, but the centre and focus is always on God’s love. This is because I believe, deeply and surely, that love is the centre of God’s heart. And if love is at the centre of God, then everything else that we talk about in our faith should be in relation to love.

I hope that by the end of this journey, you will feel immersed in God’s love, that God has filled you up, inside and out, with God’s extravagant, generous, warm, embracing love. That this will not be something you merely know, but something you are, in your inner being. And that you will already have begun to see how naturally that transforms your Christian living, in your daily devotions, your struggle with sin, your participation in God’s mission in the world and your witness. Because when we truly know that God love us and when our lives begin to reflect that knowing, then we will Be God’s Beloved.

To structure this devotional, I am following in the footsteps of those who have seen the value of a 40 day period of spiritual reflection. Rick Warren has nicely shown how 40 days is a meaningful spiritual period in the Bible:[1]

  • “Noah’s life was transformed by 40 days of rain.
  • Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai.
  • The spies were transformed by 40 days in the Promised Land.
  • David was transformed by Goliath’s 40-day challenge.
  • Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from a single meal.
  • The entire city of Nineveh was transformed when God gave the people 40 days to change.
  • Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness.
  • The disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus after his resurrection.”

And so my prayer is that you and I too will be transformed by these 40 days of reflection on Being God’s Beloved.

The 40 days of Lent start on Ash Wednesday, which is 5 March 2014, and continue until Holy Saturday on 19 April. The 40 days of Lent exclude Sundays, thus we are looking at 6 days of reflection per week. Because these reflections are integrated with the Lent course at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Irene, South Africa, on Wednesday evenings, we will treat Wednesday as the ‘day off’ for reading. So, the reflections will start on the day after Ash Wednesday, and continue every day, except Wednesdays, until Holy Saturday. You are, of course, free to structure your reflections as you like, but I encourage you to do one per day, so that you have time to meditate and pray on the reflection, and so that you engage in a prolonged and rhythmic reflection on Being God’s Beloved.

The weekly talks will be held at St Martin’s Church, in Irene, South Africa on Wednesday evenings from 19:00 to 20:00, and a week later on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 to 11:30. The talks will pull together the week’s readings and allow time for worship, discussion and fellowship. You can attend these in person, or participate live through Skype, or watch a video of the talk a couple of days later on the blog. The daily reflections will be posted on my blog,[2] which links to my own Facebook page[3] and the parish Facebook page.[4] You can also access them through a link on the parish website.[5] On my blog you can sign up to receive the daily reflections by email. For those at St Martins who do not have access to the Internet, printed copies of the reflections will be made available. Or you can request the parish office to email them to you. So, although this reflection will be hosted and run from St Martins, we hope to have a wider community of the faithful journeying together from all over the world.

The devotions are grouped according to themes for each six-day collection of reflections, interspersed with Wednesday evening Lent Course talks and other services:

    • Ash Wednesday service (5 March).
  • Week 1 – The character of God and God’s initial engagement with humanity.
    • Talk 1 – The Character of God (12 March).
  • Week 2 – God’s love as revealed across the Old Testament.
    • Talk 2 – The God of the Old Testament (19 March).
  • Week 3 – Theological reflections on God’s love in relation to other themes, such as sin and wrath.
    • Talk 3 –Justice, Wrath and Love (26 March).
  • Week 4 – The incarnation and message of Jesus of Nazareth.
    • Talk 4 – Christ as the embodiment of Divine Love (2 April).
  • Week 5 – The ministry and work of Jesus the Messiah.
    • Talk 5 – The cross (9 April).
  • Week 6 – Jesus’ death and resurrection.
    • Holy Week services (14-19 April).
  • Week 7 – The implications of Jesus for life and love.
    • Easter Sunday services (20 April).

I wish you God’s richest blessings as you journey through Lent and as you reflect on what it means to Be God’s Beloved. I will be praying for you over this time.

Blessings and joy
Adrian

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[1] Warren, R. (2002). The purpose driven life: What on earth am I here for? Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, p. 10.

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Christ – The Delivered Deliverer

Click here to listen to this 28 minute sermon.

Today we study the passage from Matthew 2: 13-23 which reports on the flight of Joseph and his family from Bethlehem to Egypt and his later return to Nazareth in Galilee. It will be helpful if you have a copy of the passage in front of you before you listen to the recording. If you can’t lay your hands on one quickly, here is a link to an online Bible.

Sometimes, when we read this and similar passages, we get caught up in the events of the narrative and lose sight of the theological meaning that Matthew wove into the text. We read the scripture from our own, Gentile perspective, rather than from the perspective of Matthew’s audience – Jewish Christians, steeped in the Old Testament narrative and theology. In this sermon we peel back the layers to uncover some of the deeper messages that the original readers would have understood.

What we get from this is a deeper insight into Jesus as saviour and redeemer. At one level, the story is about the infant Jesus delivered from a paranoid and violent ruler (Herod). At a deeper level, the story is about Jesus as the deliverer of humanity, the new Moses inaugurating a new Exodus, embodying the new and true Israel.

May Christ rise in your heart as you reflect further on the great miracle of God coming into the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the long awaited Messiah.

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Reflecting on the Incarnation

Click here to listen to a podcast of this 23 minute sermon.

Today is the start of Advent, that season in which we reflect back on Christ’s entry into the world some two thousand years ago and anticipate his coming again, one day, in glory. Western Christians (in contrast to Eastern Orthodox Christians) have tended to reduce Advent to a celebration of Christmas – the birth of Jesus. But the incarnation properly starts at conception. Somehow – who knows how! – God spliced himself into Mary’s egg. The incarnation is a full blending of human and divine in the individual called Jesus. It is a profound mystery that I really cannot explain. But we assert that Jesus is both fully God and fully human. What we learn from the Orthodox tradition is that this is the central event in Christian history – that in the incarnation God changed the course of history forever – changing the genetic makeup of humanity and opening up a spiritual path that had til then been closed.

In this sermon I try to unpack this in terms of two central theologies:

  • The notion of kenosis, that God emptied himself in order to merge with Mary’s egg – emptied of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence – to be teeny tiny small; left the eternal and perfect union between Father, Son and Spirit in order to join with humanity; immersed himself into human experience with all its sorrows and joys. Kenosis is a profound and radical expression of God’s love for humanity. What else could prompt such an extravagant and risky venture?
  • The notion of theosis, that the chasm between God the uncreated and humans the created creatures was closed when God became human, thereby opening a path for humans to participate in the divine. That God would have incarnated even if humanity had not fallen. That the purpose for Jesus coming into the world was not merely to die on the cross, but to pioneer a path for humanity to reconcile with God. Theosis points us towards hope – hope for the future, hope for what God is able to achieve in us, hope for the coming transformation and restoration.

This is a rather cerebral sermon – be warned! It invites us to engage with ways of thinking about the incarnation that may be unfamiliar to us. Don’t feel obliged to agree with what I say – I myself am not sure about all of it! But engaging with different Christian perspectives can be deeply enriching. I do, however, assert that Love and Hope are key Advent themes, and hope that these reflections on kenosis and theosis may provide some food for thought to underpin these themes.

Oh, and it is World Aids Day today, so I attempt to make some links from all of this to the ongoing fight against HIV and Aids.

Blessings and joy during this season!

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Persevere in Faith

Click here to listen to the podcast of this 20 minute sermon.

Sometimes our faith flags – God seems absent, silent, unresponsive; our hearts feel dry and dusty; we are thirsty, but barely know we’re thirsty. Sometimes the world around us presses in and squashes our faith – the demands are so great, so burdensome, that it is hard to remain connected to God. Sometimes people say things or we witness or experience things that shake our confidence in God – how could a good God allow these things to happen, how can a rational person believe in God?

All of us experience ups and downs in our faith journeys. We are, though, encouraged to persevere in our faith through the dry times, in the hope that better days will come. Today, here in Pretoria, South Africa, we are experiencing our first real rain after the long dry winter. What a blessing when the rains finally come! The ground sucks it up and brings new life. What a blessing it is when God’s Spirit falls afresh on us after a period of drought!

This sermon speaks about persevering in faith – about hanging on to God, about clinging to the Word of God, about staying in touch with other Christians. It is about continuing to walk in faith, even if not in feelings or experience, praying that God will rekindle our faith, restore our hope, bring the fresh rains.

It draws on four readings:

  • Luke 18:1-8 – “Always pray and never give up”
  • 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5 – “Continue in what you have learned”
  • Jeremiah 31:27-34 – “God’s Law is written on our hearts”
  • Psalm 119:97-105 – “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet”

Love, peace and fresh rains
Adrian

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Tithing

Click here to listen to the podcast of this 25 minute sermon.

Money is a touchy subject for many Christians and particularly in some Christian denominations. In our church, our giving is extremely private – our financial contributions are known only to ourselves and one other person (the dedicated giving recorder, who keeps a record of monies received). So discussing money is sensitive.

In this sermon I map out four principles of money matters in the church, on the premise that our thinking about money is in need of transformation. Paul says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we can test and approve God’s will. Finance is an area in need of transformative, sanctified thinking.

  • The first two principles speak to how we think about our own money:
    • Everything we have belongs to God
    • God has entrusted everything to our care and for our use.
  • The second two principles speak to how we think about giving:
    • Our giving should be in proportion to what we have
    • Our giving should emanate from our confidence in God’s trustworthiness

I advocate a particular position on the ten percent tithe that not everyone will agree with. As it is, tithing is hotly debated in the church. I think that my position is aligned with Jesus’ approach to Old Testament Law. Listen and see what you think.

When all is said and done, we have a unique opportunity to participate with God in God’s great work in the world. One of the ways of participating is through our financial giving. What a privilege to partner with God in the work of bringing into being God’s Kingdom on earth!

Love and peace
Adrian

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The Path of Jesus – A Path of Martyrdom & Death?

Click here to listen to the podcast of this 20-minute sermon.

On his way to the cross, Jesus said that we must hate our life in this world, that like a grain of wheat we must die, and that we must follow him on his journey to the cross (John 12:20-26). This seems to set us up for a path of martyrdom and death, a dark and twisted path. This was a path that many Christians in the early church followed – we read, for example, Ignatius of Antioche pleading with the Church of Rome in about AD107 to not save him from being martyred, eulogising and glorifying the path of suffering and death as the path mapped out by Christ and as the only means of his salvation.

If ‘the path of Jesus’ is a path of martyrdom and death, and if we are called to walk in his footsteps, then we too must become martyrs. Over the centuries this path has been used, for example, to exhort women to remain submissive in abusive marriages – they have the opportunity to suffer as Christ did, they have been told by Christians, and to do so without a word as Christ did. Is this really the path of Christ? Is this really what it means to walk in his footsteps?

All this raises fundamental and, to be honest, rather scary questions about God’s salvation plan: Did Jesus come into the world in order to die? Was it God’s intention – God’s desire – that Jesus should die? Was it always God’s plan that Jesus would die? Could salvation be found nowhere but through Christ’s death? If the answer to all these questions is ‘yes’, then we indeed have a dark message of salvation. And Christian discipleship is itself a dark path.

But in this sermon I want to suggest a different way of thinking about God’s intentions and desires. A different way of thinking about the place of Jesus’ death in God’s masterplan for the salvation of the cosmos. You may not agree with my conclusions – feel free to disagree! But perhaps a new look at Christ’s path will be helpful for all of us. Perhaps this will give us new insights into God’s love for us and God’s investment in our salvation. And perhaps this will open up a Path of Jesus that is truer to God’s deepest intentions.

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Instructed Eucharist – Lent 2013

Communion

Click here to listen to the audio recording of the whole service – it is an hour and a quarter, because I’ve included the WHOLE service!

Figuring out the Anglican communion service (known as the Holy Eucharist) can be quite a challenge, particularly for those of us who did not grow up Anglican. So many words in the prayer book, sit-stand-kneel-stand-kneel-sit and all the robes, chalices, bowing and crossing – it can leave you feeling quite overwhelmed and confused! Many of those who have been members of the Anglican church for many years have forgotten what everything means – we just do what we’ve always done, often without understanding why we’re doing what we’re doing. Many people who are not familiar with the sacramental tradition find it all far to elaborate and ritualistic – a real turn-off.

Because of this, our church decided to run an ‘instructed Eucharist’ – this is our second one. It is a regular Eucharist service (though a little trimmed down to keep it not too long) with commentary provided as we go along, to explain what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. The Anglican service offers some unique experiences of worship, different from most Protestant and charismatic churches. While it is not for everyone, it may still be interesting – even if you’re not Anglican. We are not a very ‘high’ Anglican church – just regular folk who love Jesus and who are members of a small Anglican community church.

Click here to download just the transcript (PDF) of the instruction. You are most welcome to use and adapt our transcript for your own church. My thanks to the various sources that I drew on to prepare this one.

Click here to watch a video extract of the setting up of the communion table and the prayers leading up to the Eucharist 

(Apologies for the poor visuals. The original video was quite shaky. YouTube has kindly removed the shake by keeping the picture steady but moving the frame around. It’s a little odd, but at least Father Aaron is not shaking anymore!)

Thanks to Lynda Smith for the photograph of an outdoor Eucharist at our parish, held in November 2012.

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Which Way are You Going?

Repentance

Click here to listen to or download the audio recording of this message.

Often, in the busyness of life, we just go on. We walk the same way we walked yesterday. We go through the motions. We just do what needs to be done. We are not especially purposeful in how we live. We often don’t really think about the direction we are taking, and whether this path will lead us closer to or further away from God. This can be a dangerous way of living – like a zombie. And so the Apostle Paul says, “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

So, God calls us to repent. Repentance does not mean to beat yourself up. Rather it is about turning away from sin and death and turning towards God and life. It is about choosing to live in a way that rejects darkness, and embraces the light. It about giving up the negative things in life and taking up the positive. It about turning our back on the devil and walking towards God. It is about salvation!

God stands always with open arms and says “Come! Come, all you who are thirsty; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Listen! Listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on you. Turn to God, for he will freely pardon” (from Isaiah 55:1-7). God gives second, third, fourth chances – he is infinitely patient. God does not coerce or force – God invites and waits.

We need to challenge ourselves with this question – which way are we going? Are you walking towards sin and death? Or are you walking towards God and life? Such an important question, particularly during Lent – Which way are you going?

In this audio message (click here) we unpack this idea of turning away from death and turning towards life.

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In All Things, God Works

http://e-thor-carlson-fine-art.com/Fine-Art-Tapestry.html

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this message

In all things, God works. Even during the darkest times of our life, God continues to work God’s purposes out.

I’ve been through some pretty dark times in my life – a long history of depression, a survivor of sexual abuse, a month in a psychiatric hospital. Life can be tough! And when we or those we love are in the midst of suffering, we often wonder where God is in all this. We wonder how God can allow these bad things. And how God can make anything good come out of the bad.

In Romans 8:28, Paul assures us that in all things, God works for our good. But this verse, so thrown around, can feel like an assault, rather than a beacon of hope, when we are in the midst of suffering. When suffering is really bad, it is hard to imagine that God could in any way be involved. It becomes hard to remember that God loves us, passionately.

This recording is a re-presentation of the transcript of a sermon that I delivered five years ago. A friend of mine, who found this sermon meaningful back then, sent it to me recently, to preach my own sermon back at me, while I have been going through a difficult time. And I felt ministered to. She didn’t know this, but it was particularly meaningful because this month it has been 20 years since I was admitted to hospital for severe depression, an experience that is one of the touchstones of my life. And so, I present this message again, as a podcast, hoping that it may minister to you.

In all things, God works. Even during the darkest times of our life, God continues to work God’s purposes out.

Click here to access the written transcription of this sermon, as preached on 27 July 2008.