Tag: Easter

The Lord is My Shepherd (Crimond) – String Quartet Arrangement

by Ben Clapton, posted in Arrangements, Videos

Looking for a beautiful and soulful string quartet arrangement of the hymn “The Lord’s My Shepherd“? Look no further than Ben Clapton’s rendition of this timeless classic, set to the hymn tune Crimond.

At Joyful Noise Music Studio, we’re proud to offer this stunning arrangement, which features all instruments sharing the melody, as well as a modulation to the minor key and a key change for the final verse.

The hymn tune Crimond has a rich history dating back to the 19th century, when Scottish church musician Jessie Seymour Irvine composed the melody. Since then, it has become one of the most beloved and widely recognized hymn tunes in the world, with countless artists and ensembles performing their own interpretations over the years.

If you’re looking to add a touch of elegance and reverence to your next religious service or special event, Ben Clapton’s string quartet arrangement of “The Lord’s My Shepherd” is the perfect choice. So why wait? Order your copy today and experience the beauty and power of this timeless hymn like never before. And remember, with Joyful Noise Music Studio, you’re always in good hands.

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Now The Green Blade Rises – String Quartet Arrangement

by Ben Clapton, posted in Arrangements, Videos

Looking for a timeless and beautiful string quartet arrangement of the Easter hymn tune, “Now the Green Blade Rises”? Look no further than the stunning arrangement by Ben Clapton of Joyful Noise Music Studio!

This arrangement is a wonderful showcase of Clapton’s talents as a composer and arranger. He has taken the old French tune Noel Nouvelet and created a lush and harmonious piece of music that is perfect for Easter services, weddings, and any other special occasion. The piece is scored for two violins, viola, and cello, making it a perfect choice for a skilled string quartet.

This arrangement of “Now the Green Blade Rises” starts with a standard hymn tune arrangement, with the melody in the first violin. However, as the piece progresses, Clapton expands on this basic arrangement with more ornamentation and a greater use of harmony.

About halfway through the piece, the tune is transformed into compound time, which adds a whole new layer of complexity and depth to the arrangement. The tune is passed around the quartet, with each instrument taking a turn at playing the melody and adding their own unique ornamentation.

Finally, the piece returns to simple time for a joyous finish to the arrangement, with all four instruments playing together to create a beautiful and uplifting finale.

This arrangement of “Now the Green Blade Rises” is not only beautiful to listen to, but also fun and rewarding to play. Musicians of varying skill levels will find something to enjoy in this arrangement, from the simple and straightforward beginning to the more complex and challenging middle section.

If you’re looking for a beautiful string quartet arrangement of a classic Easter hymn tune, look no further than Ben Clapton’s arrangement of “Now the Green Blade Rises”. Available for purchase from Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus, this arrangement is a must-have for any string quartet looking to add a beautiful and uplifting piece of music to their repertoire.

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Who do you say that I am? Mary Magdalene

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Mary Magdalene, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Easter Sunday 16 April, 2017. The Reading was John 20:1-18. It was part of a sermon series based on The Skit Guys’ ‘Who do you say I am?‘ series. You can watch the Mary Magdalene video on their webpage.

Women in the Bible

How many women are mentioned by name in the Gospels? Do you know? There are some women who are featured but not named, such as the woman from Samaria in John 4, but there are 14 women who are mentioned by name. Because they are named, they have some importance, either referencing the Old Testament stories, or are evidence of the historical accuracy of the events, as people in the community would know them by name and could confirm the events. Of these 14 named women, three (Rachel, Rahab, and Ruth) are people who appear in the Old Testament, so it is just a reference by name. Of the remaining 11, 5 – Susanna, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza (Lk 8:3), Mary the mother of James and Joseph (Mt 27:56), Salome (Mk 15:40; 16:1) and Mary, the wife of Clopas (Jn 19:25), are mentioned only by name and have no real effect on the story. That leaves us with 6. Anna the Prophetess is found in three verses of Luke 2:36-38, but has no words attributed to her. 5. Mary, and her sister Martha appears in John 11 and Luke 10. 3.   In Luke 1, we read of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and we have the incredible proclamation by Elizabeth about Mary, the mother of Jesus, in verses Lk 1:42-45. It is Elizabeth that we find the first words of dialogue attributed to a woman, in verse 25. That leaves us with 2, and they both go by the name Mary.

These two Mary’s are the only women who are mentioned in all four Gospels. We have Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Mary Magdalene. Given that we know how important Mary, mother of Jesus is to the story, the fact that Mary Magdalene is the only other named woman that rates a mention in all four Gospels tells us that her role is particularly important. So let’s take a look at her story.

In Luke 8, Mary is mentioned as part of a group of women that followed Jesus around with his disciples. It mentioned that she had seven demons in her, of which it’s implied that Jesus cast those demons out. These women are said to have provided for Jesus and his disciples out of their resources – similarly in Mark 15:41 she is mentioned as having followed Jesus around and having provided for him. From this, we can assume that Mary is a woman of some means – in Mark 16:1, we read that it is Mary, the mother of James, Salome, and Mary Magdalene who brought the spices to anoint the body of Jesus. These spices would have been expensive to purchase, so we can assume that she has some wealth behind her, something quite odd for the society of the day.

Mary is mentioned to have been a witness at the crucifixion of Christ. While Mark and Matthew mention her as being part of a group of women watching from a distance, in John she is mentioned as part of a group standing near the cross with Jesus’ mother, Mary. Some commentators say that the women – being often overlooked by the authorities – had a lot more freedom to be able to watch and move about without attracting the attention of the Chief Priests since their testimony would have been inadmissible in court under Jewish law, as opposed to the disciples, who would all have been in hiding by this stage.

And so it’s in this context that we see Mary come to be the central figure. She has appeared throughout the gospel story, is listed as having been a close follower of Jesus, and we see her as one of the first people to come and visit Jesus’ tomb. The reason she was visiting the tomb was to try and anoint Jesus’ body – the Jews believed that the soul of a body doesn’t leave a person until the fourth day – hence why Jesus waited a couple of days before departing when he heard Lazarus was sick, so that the miracle would be doubly miraculous, as he was healed on the fourth day, when the soul was supposed to have left. Mary had hoped to be able to anoint Jesus’ body on the third day so that Jesus’ soul wouldn’t be scared away by the sight and smell of his body – as that was the Jewish belief. Perhaps she had believed some of Jesus’ teachings, but didn’t understand and thought that these things were to happen after Christ’s death, but wouldn’t happen if his soul had been scared away.

Even those with the most faith can come up short

Mary is, perhaps, the person who had the most faith. She believed that Jesus would fulfill the things that he had said. Perhaps she lingered at the cross because she believed that Jesus would find a way to beat crucifixion. Perhaps she followed after his body was taken down in the hope that Jesus wasn’t really dead. And perhaps Mary returned to the tomb in the hope that the soul of Christ would be the one to fulfill his teachings.

And isn’t that so often the case? We can be absolutely assured of our faith in something – but come up short in our understanding. We saw with Peter through his denial of Christ. And again Peter, on his arrival at the tomb, sees the linen wrappings, and no body, but still doesn’t understand. Still doesn’t believe. And Thomas, one of the twelve, after all his  friends had told them what they have seen, still won’t believe until he sees it for himself. These are some of the people we hold up as examples of our faith, but when push comes to shove their belief of what Jesus was capable of was lacking.

And so it is with us. Sometimes we lack the belief of what God is capable of. We say God is capable of all things… but in our hearts we say that God won’t do this, or God won’t do that. Maybe we pray to God for healing, but don’t trust that God will put the things in place to let that healing happen. Maybe we pray to God, asking to bring in new people to our church, but don’t allow God to speak through us in our daily lives.

We need to always believe for more

We need to believe for more. We need to believe that God can and will do more.

Jesus rose from the dead – he did the impossible. And he chose to tell that news to Mary first of all – he didn’t appear to any of the twelve, but to Mary. Perhaps he realised that the men, in their patriarchal society, wouldn’t embrace the role of women in the church as well as he had hoped – so he put it right there. At the scene of his most incredible miracle, it is Mary who is the first witness.

Jesus’ view of the kingdom of God always included those on the margins – the poor, the sick, the women, the outsiders, the Gentiles. Jesus included them when other Jewish teachers were excluding them.

Sometimes, we do the same thing. We want to limit our church. We want to limit who can come in and who cannot. Sure, we may not stick up a sign saying that, but do our actions both in our church and in our community reflect who is welcome?

Sometimes, we limit what we believe others are capable of. Or we limit what we think we’re capable of. We think that we couldn’t talk to someone about our faith, or we couldn’t help out with this or that ministry, or we couldn’t do whatever. Now, sometimes there is a physical limitation – and I understand that. I’m not going to get up here and suggest that Bill should be leading our Mainly Music sessions, for example.

However, we can believe that God will do more through us, and will do more in our community, and do more than we think. This is the God who beat death, after all. We need to believe for more, because God is all powerful, and all welcoming, and all loving.

When we believe for more, we will see incredible things

When we believe for more, we will see incredible things. Mary was an outcast – she had seven demons inside her, and would have been excluded from her community. When Jesus healed her, she joined him and his disciples and followed them around. She saw the incredible things that Jesus did. And at the resurrection, she was chosen to be the one to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive. To be the one to tell the disciples that there was more to the story, that they didn’t have to lose hope. That they were about to be launched into something that would change the world, so far outside of their small Jewish worldview. God had more in store for the disciples than they could have ever imagined.

In the same way, God has more in store for us than we can ever imagine. And God has more in store for you than you can ever imagine.

We can see greater things when we believe for more

Believe for more. Believe for greater things. Believe in the one who rose from the dead. Whether you’re the disciples who are in hiding, or the Peter and John who looked in the tomb but didn’t understand, or whether you’re Mary who faithfully followed, and did what she thought was right – believe for more. Believe in the one who welcomes all, believe in the one who died for all, believe in the one who rose for all. Because when we believe for more, God will use us and show us even more incredible things.

God’s Big Reveal

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, faith

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, God’s Big Reveal, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Easter Sunday 27 March, 2016. The Reading was John 20:1-18.

I love a big reveal

Liesl and I love watching – when we remember that it’s one – we love watching this show on ABC2 called Penn and Teller’s Fool Us. It features two Magicians, Penn – the tall one who does all the talking, and Teller, the one who doesn’t speak. They have a big Las Vegas show, and through this TV show, they feature a whole heap of magicians who come on and perform a trick. If they are able to fool Penn and Teller, that is, if they aren’t able to figure out how the trick is done, then they win an opportunity to be the warm up act for their Las Vegas show.

Now magic is all about the big reveal. The showing of the box being empty. The showing of the girl sawn in half. The showing of the card that you signed being found inside the walnut which was inside the egg, which was inside the lemon. And I love it, because it gets you thinking – how did they do that? Continue reading “God’s Big Reveal” →

Jesus is alive! … so now what?

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, faith, Sermons

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Jesus is alive!… so now what?, was given at The Salvation Army Devonport on Sunday 27 April, 2014. The Reading was John 21:1-25.

In the church, today is traditionally known as low Sunday. After the hype and busyness (for the ministers at least) of the Easter Weekend, we feel a bit low. My dad’s a minister, and is looking after an Anglican church at the moment in WA. He reckoned he did about 16 hours of service over the four days. Another one of my Anglican Priest friends did 13 services in 8 days, and that included getting arrested for praying in the offices of a member of federal parliament. For the church, Easter is a busy occasion, so when it’s all said and done, we feel a bit low following it, and the stats generally go the same way. I’ve been following the stats here quite rigorously, and I can tell you that last year, you actually increased your attendance on low Sunday as compared to Easter Sunday, but the year before you followed the pattern correctly, and dropped off quite significantly. And that’s ok. We are all feeling down, and low, and the energy is gone. Add ANZAC day in, and I am certainly empathetic with those of you who are feeling low in energy today.

Going backwards

I wonder if how we’re feeling is a bit how the disciples were feeling. They had certainly been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions over the weekend. They start with the great disappointment of Jesus dying, followed by the excitement of him rising. But then they don’t really know what to do. They’re trying to take it all in, and process it all. So Peter, being the man of action that he is, hops up and says “Well, we can’t just sit around here all day. I’m going fishing.” And those that were with him head out and do the same.

Now, Simon – as he was known then, remember that Jesus changed his name to Peter – was a fisherman before Jesus came along. So for him – and for those that were with him – they were returning back to what they knew. They were going backwards.

So they go out fishing, and they don’t catch anything all night. They’re thinking, maybe we’ve lost our touch – it had been three years after all. So they head back to shore, and someone yells out, “Haven’t you got any fish?” It’s almost like he’s mocking them from the shore – fisherman, going out and not bringing anything back. Then, he yells out, “Why don’t you try the other side!”

Peter’s probably thinking “Yea right, try the other side.” That would be like me going to Des over at the shop, asking “Haven’t you had any sales” and then telling him to put the open sign on the other door, or to turn his A-Frame sign around. But they decide to do it anyway, and low and behold, they catch a large haul of fish – 153! Now, some people try to look for significance in the number, but there isn’t really any significance, apart from to signify that it was a true account, and that it really happened.

Then someone clicks – it’s the Lord. It’s Jesus! Simon Peter swims to the shore and greets him, and they share a meal together.

Reinstating

Now Peter must have been feeling a bit sheepish. But not as much as he would be with what happens next. Remember, when Jesus had been taken by the chief priests, Peter says three times that he did not know Jesus. Now, after breakfast, Jesus tackles Peter on this.

He says, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Now there’s a few things to point out just in that question alone. First, note that Jesus has returned to Peter’s original name – Simon. That must have hurt, but that’s what Peter did. He returned to his old self by going back fishing. Second, there’s no indication as to what Jesus is indicating by “these” – he could be pointing to the fish, he could be pointing to the other disciples, we don’t actually know. But either way, Peter responds and says “Yes, Lord, You know that I love you.”

Now, we actually lose something here in the translation – and I try to avoid heading into the Greek because it can get boring and stuffy, but we need to understand that there are a few different words for love in the Greek language. There’s eros (ερος), which is the erotic love, and we don’t get a lot of that word in the gospels. Then there’s phileos (φιλεος), which is the love of a friend, and then there’s agapao (αγαπαο), which is brotherly or sacrificial love. So when Jesus poses the question, he uses the word agapao. But Peter responds with phileos.

Jesus asks again, using agapao, and again Peter responds with phileos. Finally, Jesus asks a third time, this time using the word phileos. At that point, Peter realises what he was missing.

So often through the Gospels, Jesus spoke to his disciples on a heavenly plane, that they just didn’t get, and would eventually break it down for them in terms they would understand. Here we get the same thing – Jesus is aiming for Peter to think higher, to think heavenly, but when it’s apparent that he can’t – not at that moment, Jesus comes to him, and meets Peter where he’s at.

Jesus still does that today. We’re tired. We’re exhausted. But Jesus gets that. We’re hurt. We’re sore. But Jesus gets that. We’re unsure about our faith. We’re not sure what to do with what we’ve heard over the weekend. But Jesus gets that. Jesus comes, and meets us, where we are, and says “Follow me.”

Going forwards

So Peter follows Jesus, and sees “the disciple whom Jesus loves” – thought to be John – following, and asks “what about him?” And Jesus turns to him and says “what is it to you what I do with him. You, follow me.” Jesus says, quite clearly, that we are not to concern ourselves with what Jesus is calling others to do, or to concern ourselves with how others are living. Instead, we are to focus in on what we need to do in order to follow Jesus.

Don’t concern yourselves with what others are doing, because their path is different to your own. You’re all individuals! Everyone comes from a different place, with different experiences, but Jesus’ call to everyone is the same – Follow me! From wherever you are, I will meet you there, and follow me! Don’t get distracted by what other people may or may not have to deal with, but instead, focus on what you have to deal with. The path may not always be easy – indeed, Jesus highlighted how Peter was to die because of following Jesus – but still we are called to follow him.

So today, are you going to allow Jesus to meet you where you are, and follow him? As we sing, you’re invited to come and to spend time in prayer, to meet Jesus where you are, and to seek out where he is leading you. Perhaps you’ve never met Jesus, but today you want him to come and to meet you where you are, and to invite him into your life and to say that you want to follow him. Someone will come and pray with you, and will support you through that. Or if there’s someone that you want to bring forward to pray with you feel free to do that as well, or even just to pray in your seats, but let’s sing, and meet Jesus where we are, and say “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you, and that I will follow you”

The Stations of the Cross

by Ben Clapton, posted in Compositions, Music

For String Quartet and Narration. Composed 2014. 4 Movements.

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A number of years ago now, when I was 21, I was housesitting over Easter. I watched The Passion of Christ on Good Friday. Through watching it, and thinking about music (as I was want to do at the time, studying Classical Music), I realised that there weren’t many compositions that explored this idea of the Stations of the Cross. While there are many examples of pieces relating to Easter, such as Bach’s St Matthew Passion or St John Passion, I couldn’t think of any that actually combine the stories as is found in the Stations of the Cross. Part of the reason is probably because many versions of the Stations of the Cross include extra-biblical material – that is, parts that have been accepted into the stations through tradition, and weren’t actually biblical. So I decided that I would start writing a piece based upon the Stations of the Cross.

“It takes me back to what this day is all about”

First, I found a version of The Stations of the Cross to follow, which was the one that Pope John Paul II followed in 1991, which I chose because the 14 stations were based on passages from the bible narratives. Of the 14 passages, there’s 3 from Matthew, 3 from Mark, 5 from Luke, and 3 from John. I decided to write for String Quartet and Narration, mainly because I knew how to write for strings, and would be able to utilise the colours and effects effectively to evoke the text. In terms of overall arrangement, I decided that it would work best in 4 movements – the first covering the first 6 stations, then the second with stations 7 to 9, the third with stations 10 to 12, and the final movement with stations 13 and 14.

“I felt alive in some places, and in other places it hurt”

I originally wanted to base this work from a relatively popular translation of the text, however the number of verses was more than their fair use policy allowed, and upon seeking out permission to use it, I was going to be charged a large amount to use the text, for a licence that would only last 3 years. (As it’s been 7 years since I started this, I’m glad I didn’t shell out the money). As such, the text comes from the Open English Bible, an “open source” Bible released into the public domain. The Narration is notated, but is only intended as a guide as to where it starts, and roughly where it finishes. The narration is intended to sound as natural as possible, but lining up with the elements in the music.

“the music took me up… it’s a beautiful gift I’ve been given today”

I started by writing prose notes to describe my thoughts as to how each of the four movements would come together. The notes that follow are largely based off those notes, along with what it actually ended up as.

Continue reading “The Stations of the Cross” →

The God Twist: The unexpected death

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, faith

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, The God Twist: The unexpected death, was given at The Salvation Army Devonport on Good Friday, 18 April, 2014. The Reading was John 18:1-19:42.

You know, I never was one to pay much attention in Synagogue classes. Sure, my mother sent me there, wanting me to get an education, but really, all I ever really wanted to do was to be a fisherman. I loved being out on the water with my dad, and I dreamt of taking over his business. Being out on the water, there was nothing to worry about. I mean, sure, you had to worry about doing the right thing and staying safe, but eventually that just became second nature. Out on the water, there was just you, God, and the fish. Continue reading “The God Twist: The unexpected death” →

Do not doubt, but believe

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, Sermons

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Do Not Doubt, but believe, was given at Rosebud Salvation Army on Sunday 7 April, 2013. The Bible reading was John 20:19-31.

This past week has been a bit of a shock to the system. We came down on Maundy Thursday, got straight into things with the Haagidah dinner, Good Friday, Dawn Service and Easter Sunday. Then that afternoon, we headed back up to Melbourne for lunch with Liesl’s family, then we stayed in Melbourne to do some study on Monday, before heading down that night to be back here for the 8am prayer meeting, and starting our ministry here with Janette and Geoff. And already, I must say, that they’ve been great, and have shown us a lot already in this short time, but I do have to say that my head doesn’t really know where it is right now.

In the Church’s calendar, today is the first Sunday after Easter, and while through Easter, we focus in on the Death and Resurrection, it is this period that the church can really look forward to. We are in the time of remembering Christ’s days on earth post resurrection, and everything that means to us. Christ may have risen last Sunday, but he lives on in the hearts and the lives of those who worship him in his church. There are, however, so many who live just for the Big holidays. “CoE Christians” they’re sometimes called – Christmas and Easter. The two biggest days in the Church’s calendar, where we also get the largest congregations. Now I’m new to the Salvos, but I’m sure the same principle applies. In the Anglican Church, the Sunday after Christmas and after Easter were always known as Low Sunday. After the massive high of Christmas and Easter, the Sunday after was traditionally when we would get our smallest attendances of the year. Christmas, I can understand that. But Easter – the story isn’t over yet. Jesus is Risen! But that’s not the end of it. Christ rose from the Grave, but he hadn’t finished here on earth, and even though he had to ascend into Heaven, he left behind the Holy Spirit to continue the work here on earth.

Today we’re looking at a reading that takes part firstly still on that Easter Sunday, then on the following week. Jesus has risen – but he still has work to do. But just like my week this week, the Disciples are not quite sure where their heads are at right at the moment.

Despite the knowledge, there’s still doubt

The disciples had a really crazy day. It started with their teacher, that they had devoted three years of their lives to, being dead. The one who had taught the revolutionary message of a new way, of a new kingdom, the one they believed to take this new kingdom to fruition, was dead. The seed of doubt had been planted. Then one of the women, Mary, had come saying the body had been stolen. Peter and the beloved disciple confirmed that the body was gone. The seed of doubt grew – had someone stolen the body? Had something miraculous happened? Even when Mary returned saying that she had seen Jesus, they still weren’t certain.

They met that night, ten of the apostles, and a number of disciples, to discuss the events, and to worship. They locked the door, because they were still fearful as to whether the Jewish leaders still had it in for them or not.  They knew Jesus’ teachings, they knew the events of that day so far, yet when Jesus appeared, he still deemed it necessary to show his wrists and his side to show where he had been pierced. They then realised what had happened and they celebrated.

Thomas had even more information than the disciples who were there that night. Thomas wasn’t at the meeting that night, and despite being told by the disciples that Jesus appeared in the room with them, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe. This was a big thing for Thomas. Earlier – on the way to see Lazarus’ dead body, Thomas had exclaimed “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” This was a statement of blind devotion to Jesus – he was willing to follow him even to death. Yet when doubt had crept in, unless he saw with his own eyes, he couldn’t be brought back to that faith.

When there is doubt, faith flourishes

It’s so easy for us to have doubts these days. There is so much pressure from the world to have us doubt our faith, or for us to have to prove it beyond doubt. Even last Sunday, Easter Sunday, I was watching on Sunrise a creationist who was willing to put up $10,000 for an evolutionist to disprove the bible in a court – even if this guy wasn’t the most convincing of creationists himself. People want us to prove, beyond all doubt, that Christ is saviour. The problem comes is that Jesus himself said that there would always be a need for some doubt, because where there is doubt – that is when faith can flourish.

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” We have not seen with our own eyes. We can read the stories, we can study the biblical accounts, we can know our own accounts of God in our lives, but there will always be people who try to explain away those experiences. This is where faith comes in. In Hebrews 11:1, Paul writes that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Though we did not see Christ crucified and risen, we have faith that this embodies our hope – that on the cross Christ paid for our sins, and in the resurrection God accepted that payment.

When we embrace this doubt, that is when our faith can grow. The doubts that we may have actually provide the space for our faith to grow, and when that happens Jesus provides us with a rich reward.

With faith and belief, comes life

At the end of this passage comes a little epilogue from the writer of the fourth gospel. Verse 30-31: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” The signs that are written in the Gospel of John are written so that we may come to believe that Jesus IS the Messiah. When we have faith in that, when we come to believe, the result is that we are given life in Jesus’ name.

Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we have a guarantee that tells us that we are free. We have a new life, where we can live in the hope that Christ has paid for our sins, and we no longer need to live in them. The guarantee that we have in Christ’s resurrection tells us that we are free – so let’s live that life! Let’s give up the sins that we hold on to, because we’re holding onto a bit of doubt. Jesus commissioned his disciples with the words “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” God sent Jesus to bring people into a relationship with him, to know him, and to know the life that he gives. As his disciples, we are commissioned with those same words – we are sent, and the Father sent Jesus. We are sent to spread his message, and to tell others about what Jesus has done in our lives, whether that’s through words, or through actions, or just through our lives.

Live the life that Jesus gave, and share your faith

Some of you may know that I have just recently come back from Manus Island, working in the Refugee Processing Centre there. In our role there, The Salvation Army is not allowed to proselytise, however despite this I had many opportunities to share my faith. This was just through living life with the community members, and when they asked why I did the things that I did, it all basically comes back to one answer – Because of Christ, who lives in me. As an Anglican, evangelism was a difficult thing for me – we weren’t very good at it, and I never saw myself as gifted in it. How surprising it was in my first college review for one of the staff to say that they saw in me a strong gift of evangelism. See for me, evangelism isn’t just telling people about Christ, and seeking converts. It is living the life that Christ has asked of us, and being open for the opportunities when they arise.

Isn’t that, after all, what Jesus did? He lived the life that God had sent him to. He engaged in the community, and lived according to God’s will. Because of the way he lived, people were attracted to him. That’s what he meant when he says “As the Father sent me, so I send you.” So start living the life that Jesus has called you to, and living out the faith in your everyday life. Jesus died that we may have new life. Let’s spread that new life to everyone that we meet.

What is it that you’re looking for?

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, Sermons

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, What is it that you’re looking for, was given at Arthurs Seat as part of the Easter Dawn Service for the Rosebud and Mornington Salvation Army on Sunday 31 April, 2013. The Bible reading was John 20:1-18.

Who is it that you’re looking for? It’s a question that Jesus posed to Mary, but it’s one that is apt for us today as well. Who is it that you’re looking for? Are you looking for chocolate eggs or hot cross buns? Are you looking for the faith you once held as a child, or at your first conversion? Or maybe at this time in the morning, you’re looking for the nearest barista? Continue reading “What is it that you’re looking for?” →

Religious Tolerance isn’t removing religion

by Ben Clapton, posted in Archive, faith, Life

A Christmas tree in the United States.
I fail to see this Christmas Tree imposing Christianity on anyone. (Image via Wikipedia)

There’s a lot of talk going around at the moment about “religious tolerance” or “freedom of religion.” There was the Bondi Public School who banned the word “Easter” being associated with their Easter Hat Parade because they were trying to promote tolerance. Then there’s the new Childcare laws that have been passed in Victoria that prevent Children being forced to participate in Religious or Cultural activities, such as decorating Christmas trees and painting Easter eggs, yet they’re also not allowed to separate children from the group “for any reason other than illness or an accident.” Continue reading “Religious Tolerance isn’t removing religion” →