This has added more carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere, which in turn has caused global average temperatures to have risen to around 1C above the 19th Century average, and they are projected to rise at least a further 1-2C by the end of this century unless worldwide action is taken.

The purpose of this blog post isn’t to go into great detail on the science of climate change (some general details can be found here) or indeed on the tricky political situation of trying to get hundreds of nations to all agree to measures which may well not be popular in the short term.

Let’s just say for now that without a coordinated and concerted global effort to dramatically cut CO2 output, there is a real threat of catastrophic changes happening to our established way of life.

We’ve already seen in the past decade an increase in extreme weather events across the world such as extreme temperatures, droughts and wildfires on one hand, and then severe storms, flooding and crop destruction as a result of that on the other hand.

Whilst to a certain extent, these sorts of events have been happening throughout history, the evidence points to this happening a lot more regularly in the past 20 years, threatening the eventual loss of some low-lying places to rising sea levels, as well as the loss of entire ecosystems.

Christian principles about the home we all share

The most important thing to say is that Christadelphians are all agreed in our belief that the future of mankind is on this planet. God’s plan and purpose is fixed on what happens here, and we all have a part to play, however small, in filling the earth with God’s glory. Clearly, this is primarily a spiritual act, but the physical acts we do also have a bearing on how much the world in its current state glorifies the creator.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Isaiah 72 v 18-19

Right from the origin story of both humanity and the planet itself in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we read that God intended mankind to look after their home. We also get a warning in Revelation, the last book of the Bible, that God doesn’t look kindly on those who cause destruction to the world.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Genesis 2 v 15

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was…for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

Revelation 11 v 17-18

Many Christians believe that God’s ultimate plan for mankind is centred in heaven rather than on earth. Some actually expect God to destroy the earth at some future time!

It could therefore be easy to lessen just how much our world actually matters.

It’s important to state that I’m sure most Christians wouldn’t want to deliberately mistreat the world purely as a result of that belief, but there is an inherent danger of perhaps taking less care of something if we don’t think it necessarily has much of a long term future in God’s eyes anyway.

Christadelphians believe that Jesus will one day return to earth from heaven, and that the resurrection of humans will be on earth, not in heaven. Planet Earth, therefore, is the focus of God’s plan.

“…why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Acts 1 v 11

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Daniel 12 v 2

Furthermore, the promise at this time is that eventually the hardships of mortal life will be done away with.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21 v 3-4

Essentially, whilst we may expect many difficulties to come on earth both now and in the future, we don’t believe that God will allow Earth to become uninhabitable, he will intervene when the time is right to bring about a restoration likened to the Garden of Eden, and this is a sure hope for those who look forward to return of Jesus.

That’s all well and good, but what about now?

This promised future time promised to those who respond to God’s call for salvation is both exciting and reassuring, it gives us hope as we see so much destruction, suffering and hopelessness all around us. That is especially the case as so often we see worldwide political efforts to make the world a better place fall very far short of being a success.

Yet, as much as it feels like the time for Jesus to return is getting close, we cannot just abandon all efforts to be good custodians of the world we live in. As individuals, we might feel like what we do in the here and now can’t make any noticeable difference, and yet those of us who have a faith in God to restore the world in the future, also have a responsibility to at least try to treat our home now with the respect deserved.

Small things we can do include reducing the amount we throw away and ensuring we make an effort to recycle more.

• Can we buy more local goods to avoid so much shipping around the world?
• Can we travel less, especially by plane?
• Can we do more of our local travel using less polluting forms of transport such as cycling, walking and public transport?
• Can we change our car to a smaller and less polluting model?
• Can we get more energy efficient devices at home, or install solar panels to generate more of our own clean energy?
• Can we consider eating less meat? Even if we all pledged to eat 1 less meat meal per week, then this would collectively have a big impact on the climate.
• Can we plant more trees in our gardens?

We will all have things we can do well, as well as things we will struggle with, for all sorts of reasons.

And the purpose of this blog isn’t to make anyone feel guilty.

But if we can all make a few small changes then collectively this makes a significant difference.

Finally, just as Christians encourage each other to be better people through prayer and setting an example for others to follow, we likewise should aim to live our lives in a way that shows that we do care for this planet and want to ensure that it will still be a good home for future generations yet to be born.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13 v 34-35

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…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

Hebrews 11:1

I believe that faith is good, faith is positive and faith is necessary!

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV

However, is this the full story..?

Well, the Bible also tells me that faith is nothing without… these three:

1. Resurrection
2. Love
3. Works

Why? Let’s look at them one at a time:

Faith is nothing without… Resurrection

It’s essential to remember why faith is even possible…

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

1 Corinthians 15:17 NKJV

In Eden, Adam and Eve sinned. Because of that sin they were put out of the garden to live a life of hard work and subjection to death.

Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the way of reconciliation to God. Jesus (God’s son), a mortal with human nature, committed no sin and completed God’s will and purpose. He waits at God’s right hand to return and establish God’s Kingdom on earth.

If none of this is true, then our faith is empty, according to 1 Corinthians 15: 17

Faith is also nothing without… Love

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:2 NKJV

The Greek language (the language of the New Testament) has several words to express different kinds of “love”, including:

• Eros – Romantic, passionate
• Mania – Possessive, dependant
• Agape – Unconditional, selfless

The “love” expressed in 1 Corinthians 3 was Agape – selfless, unconditional love, a love that puts aside all thought for our own wellbeing.

Jesus learned his behaviours from God. He imitated God in every way. Look at how Jesus put aside all thought for himself when he demonstrated his love toward us…

Be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love [agape], as Christ also has loved [agape] us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice…

Ephesians 5: 1-2

Jesus clearly put agape into practice. He died for us!

He truly knew his Father and demonstrated the ‘selfless’ agape love toward us. We need to demonstrate the same behaviours – learning, like children, from our Heavenly Father.

If I…
“have not love, I am nothing.”

Finally, Faith is nothing without… Works

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

James 2:26 NKJV

First of all, what are Works?

Works are the outward demonstration of something we believe in. In this case, the practical effect of faith in action.

Faith and works are like a person in the Arctic with a warm jacket. Owning the jacket doesn’t keep us warm – wearing it keeps us warm. Wearing the jacket (faith) demonstrates we understand its purpose – it wouldn’t make sense not to.

So we might grow faith through a knowledge of God, however our actions complete our faith. Jesus demonstrated his faith in action, ultimately, in how he died. But it was evident in his life as well.

What about people who do good things with no knowledge of God – are they still good works?

They are, but they are not building faith. It’s faith in God that gives us the hope of His Kingdom. To receive His Kingdom we need to be known by Him, and that means imitating His behaviours (as Jesus did).

And so, to be reconciled to God, as Jesus was, our faith needs to be in God and grounded in the resurrection, in love and in works. And “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:12 NKJV

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Chances are that this weekend you’ll be tucking into the overpriced, but oh so deliciously thin chocolate that is an Easter Egg. I’ve heard many people exclaim as I’ve grown older ‘but Easter egg chocolate is just SO good!!’ These calorific treats have been in the news recently because confectionery companies have this year removed the word ‘easter’ from their packaging.

So is there any reason for Christians to be upset? In all my years of reading the Bible I don’t recall an occurrence of the disciples tucking into a Cadbury’s egg (other chocolate brands are of course available) or hunting for eggs in the garden of Gethsemane. These might seem like ridiculous things to say, but Easter is NOT about chocolate!

So, what is it about? Easter is a time to recognise one of the most important events in our human history. The death, and resurrection of The man Jesus Christ. There is an awful lot of emphasis on his resurrection at this time of year, which is wonderful, the message of hope that the resurrection affords us cannot be underestimated. However, his death was also a beacon of hope for the world.

How it Happened

Good Friday is the day that Jesus died, most of us will be lucky enough to be off work and will no doubt enjoy a lie in and if the weather is good to us, a walk in the country of nearby park. Over two thousand years ago however, Jesus was on trial for being a bringer of good news, a healer and carer of those who society saw as outcasts. The elders of the Jewish synagogue saw him as threat and decided he must be dealt with. His death for them meant a rest from his constant scrutiny and disapproval.

For us, however, it was much more significant. Christs death meant that sin, our biggest burden, had been overcome. He had denied his selfish desires and lived a perfect life.  Only for it to end in a painful death in order to allow us the opportunity of eternal life in his heavenly Fathers kingdom.

For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God

1 Peter 3v1

Our Hope

Christ remained dead in the tomb for 3 days, then came his glorious resurrection. He was raised because his life had been lived in perfect obedience to God. Death is the consequence of living a life in disobedience to God. Adam brought death into the world when he chose to eat of the forbidden tree. All of humankind are now subject to death.

Christ could not be held to this because he denied his human nature and lived a perfect life. He chose to die for us. Easter is the time we celebrate this more than usual, but as Christadelphians we do usually remember this every Sunday.

The fact that Christ was resurrected holds a huge amount of hope for Christians the world over. Although we can only do our best to live a perfect life, we will never achieve it. However, Jesus choosing to take the punishment of sin despite being sinless affords us the promise of the resurrection also.

The truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised

1 Cor 15v20

How will you celebrate?

So, although I hope you enjoy the crisp chocolate eggs adorning our supermarket shelves just now, I hope you will also take time to reflect on the man who suffered so much at this time of year to give YOU a hope.

Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading

1 Peter 1v3,4

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SfHscot

We’ve been working to make finding us easier and so Facebook, Twitter and Instagram now have the same username of @SfHscot and we’ve started using the hashtag #SfHscot

Video

One of our objectives for Saturday was to make a Facebook Live video.

We wanted to let you see what happens, generally, in Christadelphian halls across the world. The best way we could think of to do that was to take you through the doors live and show you.

So, here you are! Please give us your feedback on the video on Facebook or in the comments section below.

Thanks for watching…

Find us on Facebook here–

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The resurrection is so central to the Christian message, that Paul writes:

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)

Given the importance of the resurrection to Christianity, it’s reasonable to ask whether it is a rational belief. In their book The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona present the following five reasons to believe in the resurrection:

1. Jesus was a real person who died on the cross

In addition to the four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), several prominent historians refer to Jesus’ death. A good summary of this evidence is presented in The Guardian on Good Friday this year.

The first non Christian reference to Jesus comes from the Jewish historian Josephus:

When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified… (Josephus, Antiquities c. 93AD)

Likewise, the Roman historian Tacitus refers to Jesus’ execution when describing the persecution of Christians under Nero:

Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus. (Tacitus, Annals c. 115 AD)

As well as these historians, the Jewish Talmud refers to the crucifixion:

on the eve of the Passover Yeshu (Jesus) was hanged. (Jewish Talmud, c. late 2C AD)

These writers had no incentive to distort the truth as they were not Christians. Indeed, the writers of the Jewish Talmud perhaps had an incentive to ignore referring to Jesus’ death. Given the Jews’ involvement in Jesus’ crucifixion, it may have been more convenient to simply not refer to him. We can use these sources to reliably establish that Jesus existed and was put to death on the cross.

2. Jesus’ disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them

Jesus told his disciples that he would die and be raised from the dead. For example, Matthew 16:21 says

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

When it came to the night of Jesus’ arrest, the disciples fell asleep while they were supposed to keep watch (Matthew 26:36-46) and abandoned him after his arrest (Matthew 26:56). Peter famously denied Jesus three times (Luke 22:54-62). After Jesus’ resurrection, his disciple Thomas refused to believe, stating:

Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. (John 20:25)

The book of Acts records the growth of the early church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven. Acts presents the disciples as brave men who were willing to risk their lives to spread the word about Jesus. In Acts 2:14-41, Peter boldly preaches to a crowd of thousands of Jews that Jesus died and rose again. There is evidence to suggest from early church writings (outside of the Bible) that many disciples were put to death for their beliefs, with Peter likely to have been crucified upside down in Rome, as Jesus had hinted at in John 21:18-19.

Why did the disciples turn from such timid, doubtful men, into such bold proclaimers of the gospel? If they didn’t truly believe in the resurrection, why would they have been willing to give up their lives? These men wholeheartedly believed that the Jesus who they knew, had died and rose again.

3. Paul was converted from a persecutor of Christians to one of the leading preachers of the 1st Century

The book of Acts introduces Saul as a man who “was ravaging the church” and an approver of the execution of Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 8:1-3). In Acts 9, we read how he was converted to Christianity by receiving a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. He changes his name to Paul and becomes a key character in Acts, which details his missionary journeys around the Mediterranean.

Paul’s letters to various churches make up much of the New Testament. In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul reflects on how his life changed following his conversion:

though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith (Philippians 3:4-9)

If Paul wasn’t convinced that he had seen Jesus, why did he turn his back on his old life? Why would he have instead chosen to live such a tough life (see 2 Corinthians 11:24-29) in dedication to the gospel?

4. Jesus’ half brother James was converted from sceptic to disciple

Mary and Joseph had natural children after Jesus was born, which we learn from Matthew 13:55.  However the gospels tell us that Jesus’ natural family didn’t believe that he was the son of God (John 7:5), to the extent that they even tried to seize him while he taught (Mark 3:21).

One of Jesus’ natural brothers was James, who is mentioned in Acts 15:12-21 and Galatians 1:19, where he is described as an apostle and the leader of the Jerusalem church. He is commonly believed to be the writer of the New Testament letter of James. He is also believed to have died for his faith, as referred to by Josephus, Hegeippis and Clement of Alexandria.

James had clearly been a sceptic growing up with Jesus, but had been transformed into a determined church leader. What had caused this turnaround? 1 Corinthians 15:7 states that after his resurrection, Jesus had appeared to James. This makes sense of James’ transformation, which would have been unlikely if Jesus hadn’t have been raised from the dead.

5. The empty tomb

Each of the gospels describe Jesus’ tomb as being empty after his resurrection. Matthew describes a coverup attempt made to explain the tomb being found empty:

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. (Matthew 28:11-15)

The early Christian writers Justin Martyr and Tertullian also refer to Jewish claims that the disciples stole the body. There would have been no need to give this explanation if the tomb had not been found empty.

No one was ever able to produce Jesus’ corpse to prove that the body had been stolen. The tomb was protected by a heavy stone and a guard of soldiers, which the Pharisees had asked for (Matthew 27: 59-66). It would have been very unlikely that the disciples were able to get past these to steal the body.

Also, each of the gospels refer to a woman’s testimony of the empty tomb. In 1st Century Jewish culture, the testimony of women was not accepted or viewed as credible. It would have made little sense to make up a story where the tomb is first found empty by women. It is more likely that Jesus did indeed first appear to women and that this was not a fabricated story.

What does this all mean?

Many people have developed several alternative theories to make sense of these five statements. A detailed explanation of each of them is beyond the scope of this post, however they can often run into common problems (this graphic contains a good summary). For example, some have proposed that Jesus didn’t really die, which given the brutal method of crucifixion is highly unlikely. Others have proposed the disciples hallucinated. Each disciple would have needed to be concurrently under the same hallucination, which isn’t a typical pattern for grief hallucinations. This is therefore unlikely.

The simplest explanation of each of these statements is to accept that Jesus was raised from the dead. This is a rational and reasonable belief based on evidence.

So this Easter, let’s think again about what the celebration means. Why not open your Bible to find out more about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and what this means for you?

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Historical Jesus

Around this time of year in AD30 (give or take a few years) in the city of Jerusalem, a Jewish man named Jesus was sentenced to death for crimes he didn’t commit. That is pretty much accepted, even by those who are not religious in any way whatsoever. There are very few scholars indeed who deny that Jesus of Nazareth was an important historical figure who was put to death on a cross. This man had for the past 3 years been preaching the good news of “the Kingdom of God” to all who would hear, both Jews and everyone else living in the Roman province of Palestine. He built up quite a following of disciples because he defied the religious leaders of his day by healing the sick and giving hope to those who had nothing. The Jewish religious leaders declared him a blasphemer because of what he taught. The Roman rulers feared that he would start a political revolution. So they conspired together, he was hung on a cross and left to die an agonising death.

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23.46

And if that was the end it would have been a tragic story, yet one which is so often repeated in our world. It would however have made little impact on you or me, other than as an oft-told tale of how so very often those who call out the shortcomings of religion and politics become a scapegoat whilst the world keeps on killing the innocent and rewarding the immoral.

He is risen

The story doesn’t end there though. Because those who follow Jesus Christ believe that his death wasn’t permanent, he was raised by God because of his obedience. He was then reunited with his disciples, and he then ascended to heaven where he sits at the right hand of his father. Of course this part of the story isn’t accepted by many scholars, certainly not by those who aren’t religious anyway. It is incredible. It defies logic.

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Luke 24.2-6

Yet there is no denying that within a few years of these events tens of thousands of people were calling themselves Christians, despite the fact that they were putting themselves in the same danger from both the Jewish and Roman authorities that Jesus had. Their faith in the resurrected Jesus meant more to them than anything else, even their lives.

Ultimately, this is how we in the 21st Century should also view our faith. This story is the foundation of Christianity. It is the most important thing to believe and it should matter hugely to us. We can so often get bogged down in complicated arguments about what we believe and don’t believe, and that can leave us downhearted. Yet this story gives us hope. Hope for the future. The Kingdom preached by Jesus is still being preached today. It is an alternative to the politics and religion of fear and violence.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15.19-22

Self sacrifice

Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, there is hope for the future. Whilst we await Jesus’ return from heaven, we need to live out this hope in the lives of others by following his example of living a life of self sacrifice rather than hypocrisy. In other words, living like nothing else matters.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3.16-18

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