Sunday 14 November Remembrance Sunday
Greater Love, War and Peace
We are here today because of wars and to pray for wisdom and peace. We are here today to remember those who made sacrifices: many, the ultimate sacrifices, giving their lives, so that we might have peace and so that we would not be living under some tyrannical rule.
I am not sure what you might think is better - not to be at war with a tyrant like Adolf Hitler, or under his rule or living in this global pandemic, the viral war which is known as Covid -19.
Love is better than hate, peace is better than war. Christians believe that the very nature of God is love, pure, unadulterated, perfect love. The Bible says much on this, but one of our verses today says:
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
We can deduct from this that love is a thing that is given for the benefit of another or many others. It is sacrificial – a life laid down.
We’re here to remember those who have created the peace we enjoy today here in Scotland. We’re here to remember especially those who paid the supreme sacrifice, giving their lives for the sake of their friends and families and communities. Many others also paid greatly, losing limbs, suffering great anxiety and mental turmoil – some so damaged that it detrimentally affected their relationships.
It is difficult for many of us to appreciate the sacrifices that were made as we did not experience or live through those times. Yet we have benefited from the outcome of wars in various ways.
The Bible in Romans 5 says, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
That surely is the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for each one of us. He did it despite the fact that none of us are righteous.
In our other reading we heard that there is “a time for war and a time for peace” Yet there is a wide range of what people believe and think of a statement like this.
A pacifist by definition is “a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable”. I am not sure how rigid all pacifists are, but it is possible that there may be a range of views among them, and that some may accept that under certain circumstances war may be justifiable while others would not..
Then as many wear a red poppy today, others will wear the white poppy instead though usually it is worn up until the Day of Remembrance.
The white poppy stands for 3things. They represent;
Then of course there is something called the just war theory. It originated from Christian theology and philosophy attempting to reconcile 3 things.
Many of us here will have known people who have been, or even they themselves have been sent in to war. I recently spent eight hours in Accident and Emergency on a Friday night and that was a pretty horrific experience. Blood dripping from many wounds from fights and accidents, fights in the waiting room, screams of pain and many people suffering greatly – but in truth I have no doubt that was minor in comparison to what it can be like in a war zone.
My parents told us of the air raid shelters and rationing they faced growing up and then surfacing to wreckage and destruction where bombs had fallen – neighbours houses obliterated, some killed.
Wars these days can be even more devastating with car bombs in markets, suicide bombers, people being beheaded, communities obliterated by weapons of mass destruction and the like. Then there is the viral war which has taken over 5 million lives in these past 2 years, and the loss of so many loved ones from this and we are still counting.
A time for war therefore seems to be an inevitable physical, emotional & mental reality in this world for most, if not for all of us.
I haven’t even mentioned the Spiritual war that everyone faces. We have been looking at that last month in the Book of Job which helps us to understand suffering and evil in this world and to better understand the war going on in the heavenly realms. The sermons are available on our website if you are looking for some understanding or answers to very difficult questions life has thrown at you.
Yet people have laid down their lives for us and it is right for us to pay homage and to be humbly thankful for those who made these sacrifices in order that we might live in relative peace today.
After a large gathering at the monument earlier it is sad that many people don’t attend this place of worship to ponder these things – even if they have questions like “If there was a God why would He allow such loss, grief and destruction in so many peoples’ lives?
In Revelation 12:12 it says… “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.”
Elsewhere the Bible explains that the devil is a fallen angel who sought to have people worship and follow him rather than God. He is a deceiver and false accuser. He loves it when people don’t believe in his or God’s existence. He loves causing pain and carnage because it mostly causes people to spiral away from encountering their God and creates misery and pain.
In Ephesians 6:12 it says, ‘For we (humans) do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’.
Christians believe there is a battle going on for all of our souls too. Since we all fall short of being truly unselfish people, sinning and causing others and ourselves shame, hurt and pain; our Holy God makes available to us the only solution as we live in this mess of this spiritual battle for our soul. It includes living in the place where there is no more pain, suffering or weeping, in heaven.
So God sent His only begotten Son, who never sinned and became the ultimate sacrifice showing, “Greater love has no one than this to lay down one’ life for us.”
We can ignore this claim, even without delving further into the evidence OR we can investigate and find the truly perfect peace Jesus promises all His followers.
When we make the choice to become His follower, the battle continues on earth, but the outcome of the battle has already been decided – God has overcome, He is victorious and the devil is the ultimate loser.
So the main question for us is “who will win our soul?” In Romans 10:13 in the Bible it tells us “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” We all have an ultimate choice in life to make. Will we accept Jesus sacrifice or ignore it?
So it is important to Remember on this day, but real and lasting hope ought to be our ultimate aspiration. Hope for inner peace and satisfaction which the world’s pleasures cannot provide.
The only way it can be realised through the gospel of Jesus Christ, who gave His life, so that we might gain eternal life. Why not investigate the evidence, take out the insurance policy which cost God’s Son His life to guarantee your future with no more wars, pain or tears & learn to truly love as you live & serve others?
Amen
We are here today because of wars and to pray for wisdom and peace. We are here today to remember those who made sacrifices: many, the ultimate sacrifices, giving their lives, so that we might have peace and so that we would not be living under some tyrannical rule.
I am not sure what you might think is better - not to be at war with a tyrant like Adolf Hitler, or under his rule or living in this global pandemic, the viral war which is known as Covid -19.
Love is better than hate, peace is better than war. Christians believe that the very nature of God is love, pure, unadulterated, perfect love. The Bible says much on this, but one of our verses today says:
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
We can deduct from this that love is a thing that is given for the benefit of another or many others. It is sacrificial – a life laid down.
We’re here to remember those who have created the peace we enjoy today here in Scotland. We’re here to remember especially those who paid the supreme sacrifice, giving their lives for the sake of their friends and families and communities. Many others also paid greatly, losing limbs, suffering great anxiety and mental turmoil – some so damaged that it detrimentally affected their relationships.
It is difficult for many of us to appreciate the sacrifices that were made as we did not experience or live through those times. Yet we have benefited from the outcome of wars in various ways.
The Bible in Romans 5 says, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
That surely is the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for each one of us. He did it despite the fact that none of us are righteous.
In our other reading we heard that there is “a time for war and a time for peace” Yet there is a wide range of what people believe and think of a statement like this.
A pacifist by definition is “a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable”. I am not sure how rigid all pacifists are, but it is possible that there may be a range of views among them, and that some may accept that under certain circumstances war may be justifiable while others would not..
Then as many wear a red poppy today, others will wear the white poppy instead though usually it is worn up until the Day of Remembrance.
The white poppy stands for 3things. They represent;
- remembrance for all victims of war;
- a commitment to peace; and
- a challenge to attempt to glamorise or celebrate war. It is sometimes called the peace poppy.
Then of course there is something called the just war theory. It originated from Christian theology and philosophy attempting to reconcile 3 things.
- Taking human life is seriously wrong
- We have a duty to defend our citizens, and defend justice.
- Protecting innocent human life and defending important moral values sometimes requires willingness to use force and violence.
Many of us here will have known people who have been, or even they themselves have been sent in to war. I recently spent eight hours in Accident and Emergency on a Friday night and that was a pretty horrific experience. Blood dripping from many wounds from fights and accidents, fights in the waiting room, screams of pain and many people suffering greatly – but in truth I have no doubt that was minor in comparison to what it can be like in a war zone.
My parents told us of the air raid shelters and rationing they faced growing up and then surfacing to wreckage and destruction where bombs had fallen – neighbours houses obliterated, some killed.
Wars these days can be even more devastating with car bombs in markets, suicide bombers, people being beheaded, communities obliterated by weapons of mass destruction and the like. Then there is the viral war which has taken over 5 million lives in these past 2 years, and the loss of so many loved ones from this and we are still counting.
A time for war therefore seems to be an inevitable physical, emotional & mental reality in this world for most, if not for all of us.
I haven’t even mentioned the Spiritual war that everyone faces. We have been looking at that last month in the Book of Job which helps us to understand suffering and evil in this world and to better understand the war going on in the heavenly realms. The sermons are available on our website if you are looking for some understanding or answers to very difficult questions life has thrown at you.
Yet people have laid down their lives for us and it is right for us to pay homage and to be humbly thankful for those who made these sacrifices in order that we might live in relative peace today.
After a large gathering at the monument earlier it is sad that many people don’t attend this place of worship to ponder these things – even if they have questions like “If there was a God why would He allow such loss, grief and destruction in so many peoples’ lives?
In Revelation 12:12 it says… “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.”
Elsewhere the Bible explains that the devil is a fallen angel who sought to have people worship and follow him rather than God. He is a deceiver and false accuser. He loves it when people don’t believe in his or God’s existence. He loves causing pain and carnage because it mostly causes people to spiral away from encountering their God and creates misery and pain.
In Ephesians 6:12 it says, ‘For we (humans) do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’.
Christians believe there is a battle going on for all of our souls too. Since we all fall short of being truly unselfish people, sinning and causing others and ourselves shame, hurt and pain; our Holy God makes available to us the only solution as we live in this mess of this spiritual battle for our soul. It includes living in the place where there is no more pain, suffering or weeping, in heaven.
So God sent His only begotten Son, who never sinned and became the ultimate sacrifice showing, “Greater love has no one than this to lay down one’ life for us.”
We can ignore this claim, even without delving further into the evidence OR we can investigate and find the truly perfect peace Jesus promises all His followers.
When we make the choice to become His follower, the battle continues on earth, but the outcome of the battle has already been decided – God has overcome, He is victorious and the devil is the ultimate loser.
So the main question for us is “who will win our soul?” In Romans 10:13 in the Bible it tells us “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” We all have an ultimate choice in life to make. Will we accept Jesus sacrifice or ignore it?
So it is important to Remember on this day, but real and lasting hope ought to be our ultimate aspiration. Hope for inner peace and satisfaction which the world’s pleasures cannot provide.
The only way it can be realised through the gospel of Jesus Christ, who gave His life, so that we might gain eternal life. Why not investigate the evidence, take out the insurance policy which cost God’s Son His life to guarantee your future with no more wars, pain or tears & learn to truly love as you live & serve others?
Amen