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How to cope with Fear

Posted on by Phill Sacre

There’s a lot of fear around at the moment due to the coronavirus. I think it’s almost worse at the moment now that we’re allowed out again but have to observe all the social distancing, mask wearing etc. I wanted to record a short video to talk about what the Bible says about fear and how to cope with it.

Here is a short reflection on Luke 12:4-8, where Jesus talks about what – or who – we should fear, and how that helps us to cope in these circumstances.

If you enjoyed this video, you might like to subscribe on YouTube. Or have a look at the teaching programme if you’re interested in learning the Christian faith.

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Wisdom of Proverbs: Guidance

Posted on by Phill Sacre

In this article we are going to be looking at the Wisdom of Proverbs, specifically about the topic of guidance.

Everyone is looking for guidance at the moment. In our area, a number of local venues host occasional ‘psychic nights’ where people try to contact a dead relative or obtain guidance from the spiritual world. Mediums, horoscopes, and palm readings are all making a come back. Even among my own friends and acquaintances, I’ve been surprised to discover how many people seem to buy into these things.

The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about guidance, and we’re going to look at a few verses from Proverbs which help us. But first – if you’re not familiar with Proverbs, the most important thing to remember is what Proverbs calls wisdom:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

If you want to be wise, according to Proverbs, what you need first and foremost is “the fear of the Lord”: fear not in the sense of being scared, but rather an appropriate respect, reverence and awe. In other words, we need to listen to what God says first and foremost – this is God’s world, and we’ll do best when we live in his ways.

So, with that in mind, let’s dive in to what the Wisdom of Proverbs has to say about guidance.

Continue reading “Wisdom of Proverbs: Guidance”
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One habit to REVOLUTIONISE your spiritual life (no exaggeration)

Posted on by Phill Sacre

This is a video I’ve had on my mind to do for a while, and since I finished the Heidelberg Catechism yesterday, I thought I’d do it today!

This is a simple habit which I personally have found hugely beneficial spiritually, and I’d like to share it with you all as well.

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Heidelberg vs New City Catechism

Posted on by Phill Sacre

As of 2024, The Heidelberg and New City courses are no longer available here on the website, but some remain on the YouTube channel (See the Heidelberg playlist). However, they have been superseded by newer courses here. Check out the Firm Foundations Course on YouTube, or get the App for more!

I have just uploaded the final part of the Heidelberg Catechism series. That means that all three parts – one, two and three – are now available! 52 sessions all done and dusted. (OK, you got me, there are actually 51 because I skipped one session about oaths which I thought was less relevant to the 21st century, but still). Over the last few months, as I’ve been recording this, I’ve found it a real joy to go through the catechism. I thought, seeing as I’ve already worked my way through the New City Catechism (you can see the course here), it might be worth doing a head to head comparison – the Heidelberg vs New City Catechism.

In summary, over the past few months I’ve enjoyed doing the Heidelberg videos more than I did the New City Catechism ones. Here are a few points where I prefer the Heidelberg to the New City Catechism.

It’s warmer

The Heidelberg is not simply an intellectual exercise – it’s designed to be deeply pastoral. That is, the catechism doesn’t just want you to know things, it wants you to believe things and act on them as well. That’s really important: if the gospel and the Bible doesn’t make a difference in our lives, then we haven’t really grasped its significance.

This really hit me the other day when I was preaching on Titus 1:1-4, these words jumped out at me: “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness” – the truth that leads to godliness. That’s what the Heidelberg is concerned with, not simply ‘the truth’ as information but the truth as life-changing.

Now, of course the NCC is concerned with our lives as well as our doctrine. But I feel that the wording of the questions in the NCC is a bit more ‘academic’ – if you want the warmer, pastoral stuff you have to read the explanatory notes and the prayer (something which I do appreciate being in the NCC). But if you are just comparing the Q&As, I think the Heidelberg has a more pastoral and warmer tone. It tends to avoid theological jargon words and explain things within the Q&A more.

It’s more connected to the Bible

One of the things I really like about the Heidelberg compared with the New City Catechism is that the Heidelberg footnotes each part of the catechism with verses from the Bible. This is really helpful – if you want to learn where they are drawing the catechism from, you can look up the Bible verses and it helps you to put the pieces together. In fact, very often the language of a question or answer is taken directly from the Bible.

I think the Heidelberg does a great job at connecting the catechism with the pages of the Bible (which is why I think it goes so well with the mission of this site – to Understand the Bible better).

The NCC, by contrast, just has one Bible verse per Q&A. As a teacher, I’ve actually found it much easier to teach the Heidelberg because it gives you the Bible passages to go on.

It’s more detailed

One of the things which I appreciated about the Heidelberg when compared to the New City Catechism was the way it expanded on things. The New City Catechism Q&As are very dense – they use a few words to talk about a lot of complicated concepts. In order to get the best out of the New City Catechism you really need to read the explanatory notes written by various different authors. The problem with that is, different authors will take different aspects of the catechism to focus on – I found it could be a little uneven.

With the Heidelberg, there are no explanatory notes – everything is contained within the questions and answers – and it often goes into more detail about things that you want to know, case in point: talking about what the word ‘amen’ means at the very end of the catechism (finishing the Lord’s Prayer).

Conclusion

All in all, both the New City and the Heidelberg catechisms are good and will teach you the Christian faith. The New City definitely has some advantages – I like the app (although I found it didn’t remember where I was up to, which was a pain). It’s in modern language, and it includes a prayer. But, as a teacher, my preference is the Heidelberg – it’s just so much easier to teach. It’s not dense, you don’t have to unpack lots of theological words like ‘sanctification’. And the way it connects directly with Bible verses means you can easily link the two together.

You can watch or listen to all the Heidelberg and New City Catechism sessions in the teaching programme.

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Daily Reading: Spurgeon on the go

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just found out about the Daily Readings App, with readings from C.H. Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening”. This is a famous set of devotions he wrote – two for each day of the year – at the start and end of the day. The app is free (bargain!) and the readings have been lightly modernised. It’s a great resource – I was given a copy of Morning and Evening when I was ordained, and love it.

To give you a flavour of what to expect, here is Spurgeon’s devotion for this morning:

“Our heart shall rejoice in Him.” Psalm 33:21

Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress; although trouble may surround them, they still sing; and, like many birds, they sing best in their cages. The waves may roll over them, but their souls soon rise to the surface and see the light of God’s countenance; they have a buoyancy about them which keeps their head always above the water, and helps them to sing amid the tempest, “God is with me still.” To whom shall the glory be given? Oh! to Jesus–it is all by Jesus. Trouble does not necessarily bring consolation with it to the believer, but the presence of the Son of God in the fiery furnace with him fills his heart with joy. He is sick and suffering, but Jesus visits him and makes his bed for him. He is dying, and the cold chilly waters of Jordan are gathering about him up to the neck, but Jesus puts His arms around him, and cries, “Fear not, beloved; to die is to be blessed; the waters of death have their fountain-head in heaven; they are not bitter, they are sweet as nectar, for they flow from the throne of God.” As the departing saint wades through the stream, and the billows gather around him, and heart and flesh fail him, the same voice sounds in his ears, “Fear not; I am with thee; be not dismayed; I am thy God.” As he nears the borders of the infinite unknown, and is almost affrighted to enter the realm of shades, Jesus says, “Fear not, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Thus strengthened and consoled, the believer is not afraid to die; nay, he is even willing to depart, for since he has seen Jesus as the morning star, he longs to gaze upon Him as the sun in his strength. Truly, the presence of Jesus is all the heaven we desire. He is at once

“The glory of our brightest days;

The comfort of our nights.”

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True Humility | Luke 20:41-21:4 | Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

We are living in the era of the Selfie. Recently two American academics wrote a book called “The Narcissism Epidemic” – everyone is obsessed with themselves and their own ‘brand’. But that is not Jesus’ way – what he says in this passage is very counter-cultural and we need to hear it.

The quote from No Little People at the end which I unfortunately missed off is this. Just to explain, in this sermon he has been looking at Moses’ staff (or stick / rod) – how God even managed to use a stick of wood:

“The people who receive praise from the Lord Jesus will not in every case be the people who hold leadership in this life. There will be many persons who were sticks of wood that stayed close to God and were quiet before him, and were used in power by Him in a place which looks small to men.

“Each Christian is to be a rod of God in the place of God for him. We must remember throughout our lives that in God’s sight there are no little people and no little places. Only one thing is important: to be consecrated persons in God’s place for us, at each moment. Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under His Lordship in the whole of life, may, by God’s grace, change the flow of our generation. And as we get on a bit in our lives, knowing how weak we are, if we look back and see we have been somewhat used of God, then we should be the rod “surprised by joy.”

No Little People by Francis Schaeffer
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Heidelberg Catechism – Part two now available

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just released Part 2 of the Heidelberg Catechism. The Heidelberg is divided into three parts, which you could summarise “Guilt”, “Grace”, and “Gratitude”.

This second part is focussed on the grace of God and our salvation.

I’ve really enjoyed working my way through the videos on the Heidelberg – it’s particularly good at linking the Bible with the catechism, each Q&A has Bible verses which you can look up.

If you’ve not done it before – why not give it a try?

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