For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Matthew 16:25

To save our lives, therefore, we must offer them up freely, and this strangeness is addressed by the Apostle: those who demand the unparadoxical, the easy to understand—signs and wisdom—will be disappointed in our faith.

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

First Corinthians 1:21–25

We are called, therefore, to proclaim the Cross, to revel in the Cross, to be glad in the Cross: “through the Cross hath joy come to all the world,” as we say in Sunday Matins.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called to take up our own weapon and trophy against all the powers of darkness of this age that we may have Life.

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his Cross, and follow Me. …
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Matthew 16:24, 27

And we enter into this reality through baptism.

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death?
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His Resurrection,
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
For he who has died has been freed from sin.

Romans 6:3–7

But, having taken up this co-crucifixion with Christ, having been freed from captivity to sin, we experience the result of being joined to Christ’s death.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

verses 8–11

Let us, therefore, come together and partake of this paradox, let us live the Life that comes through death—death to idolatry, death to sin, and even death to death itself—that we may live the Resurrection here and now, receive Christ and inherit eternal Life.

Come and see!

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Confessions are available following any service or by appointment.

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We serve a meal following the Liturgy on Sundays. All are welcome.

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Sermon

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.

“I must prove the truth of Christianity,” I proclaim in my heart, “I must demonstrate how others are wrong.” And I go about dismantling the arguments of others, proving their failures, ridiculing their errors. “I am fighting for Christ,” I lie to myself, “I am doing God’s works.”

The beloved disciple tells us,

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
— First John 4:20–21

When I speak in these adversarial terms with my brother—yes indeed, my brother, for in Christ we are to see all as our neighbours, all as our brothers and sisters—I am lacking in love because my zeal is sourced in my own correctness rather than in God Who is Himself love. (First John 4:8, 16) And my love must not be centred in emotions, in having ‘loving feelings’ about my brother, but in service, in honour, in my own humility. I serve my brother whom I can see and thereby serve God Whom I do not see. Placing myself below God is an easy thing to do, it is just the natural order of existence, but placing myself below others is hard and shows a true dedication to God.

Christ is our Witness in this, yet He demonstrates this through an inversion. He does what is hard first, though it appears to us easy, and then confirms it by doing what is easy though appears hard. “My son,” says the Lord, “your sins are forgiven.” And we must not overlook the magnitude of this statement. This paralytic was, like all of us, a sinner: those who are sick, or in need, are not more righteous than others. Yet He saw the faith, the determination, of the four who bore him, who expressed their love for him in a tangible way, and removed his sins. This is the greatest miracle in today’s Gospel reading. And to confirm He has the right, the power and the authority to forgive sins He says, “rise, take up your pallet and go home.” What was unseen was confirmed by what was seen.
…

Read this Sermon, Proving Christianity.
Archive of Past Sermons.

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Services this week

Friday 13th March
Discussion on the Book of Job, 8 pm
Online only

Saturday 14th March
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford

Sunday 15th March
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford

Online session is via Google Meet: please get in touch for the details.

Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.

Attending Church

We meet at 3rd URC Scout HQ, Kings Rd, Chandlers Ford SO53 2EY. The Scout hall is behind and to the left of the URC Church. Come and See.

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Can I help you?

I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.

Can you help the parish?

Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.

Your prayers!

With love in Christ

Fr Alexander
webenquiry@orthodoxeastleigh.uk