A sermon by Graeme Codrington preached in May 2007. His notes are here. I think it’s an appropriate way to start the new year: by taking about fear and hope.

Living in South Africa right now is not for sissies. The country’s transition to democracy has been miraculous on one hand, and yet is fraught with the societal ructions every country that has ever made this transition has discovered. In particular, in the past few months, there seems to have been an upswing in violence, and crime aggravated by violence. A national debate has ensued on crime, reaching all the way to the Office of the President.

How should Christians respond? 69 times in the NIV, we are instructed (!!): “Do not be afraid”. But what does that mean? What difference does it make that we are Christians when faced with fear?

I preached a sermon on this issue this past Sunday. It felt inspired, and the feedback has been amazing. It is available as an MP3 download. 45 minutes, 3.12 Mb. Right click here, and save as. (Note, quality of recording has been dramatically reduced to ensure small file size).