Our relationship with

the Church of England

In line with the Biblical foundations of the Church of England, we want to ensure that God’s word is faithfully taught and lived out within St Nicholas Sevenoaks. We have been disturbed by the majority decision of the House of Bishops in December 2023 to commend “Prayers of Love and Faith”. We are grateful that the Bishop of Rochester, the Right Reverend Jonathan Gibbs, has publicly dissented from the majority decision of the House of Bishops.

In all that we do at St Nicholas, we want to reflect and celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ, who is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). We are therefore delighted to commend this video resource from the Church of England Evangelical Council “The Beautiful Story”.

We are also delighted to commend “Is God Anti-Gay?” by Sam Allberry as a short accessible book on some of these sorts of issues. It considers Jesus’ teaching on sexuality and looks at issues relating to same-sex attraction in the Church, the world and the Bible. “This short, readable book, now updated and expanded, answers the questions we all need to wrestle with and offers a positive and liberating way forward. Discover how the Christian message is good news for everyone whatever their sexuality.” Order here from the St Nicholas Sevenoaks Bookshop.

In light of the gravity of the of the situation the leadership of St Nicholas Church has taken the following actions so that it is understood where St Nicholas stands :

Wednesday 10th January 2024 the St Nicholas PCC passed the following resolution:

St Nicholas aims to be a welcoming and loving community, reflecting God’s unconditional welcome and love in Christ. We hold out the good news of Jesus for all. At the same time, this PCC resolves to uphold Biblical orthodoxy by not permitting the Prayers of Love and Faith, commended by the House of Bishops in December 2023, to be used within St Nicholas Church and its associated congregations.

In addition, the clergy at St Nicholas Sevenoaks have drafted the following statement, indicating their concerns:

We lament the recent actions of the House of Bishops which have led the Church of England away from the teachings of Christ as revealed in Scripture and received by the church. We also lament the deep failure of the House to recognize and celebrate the good and loving counsels of God, as revealed in Holy Scripture and in the created order, which it has neglected to teach and uphold. This is a denial of the vows the bishops made at their consecrations, and a repudiation of the foundations of their own authority. We cannot recognize their moral authority to oversee or teach the church of Christ.

We are deeply grieved that even as their schismatic actions have deeply damaged the unity of the body of Christ, they evade responsibility for their actions. They call us to join with them and, in the name of ‘unity’, to ourselves break our bonds of fellowship with the wider church of Christ, both globally and historically. This we cannot do, and so we are in impaired fellowship with those in the House who have led the church into error. We urge them, in the name of Christ, to repent.

We give thanks to God for those bishops who have courageously dissented from the actions and false teaching of the House, including the Bishops of Rochester and Ebbsfleet, and continue to look to them for spiritual oversight. We pray for them, that they might remain faithful shepherds of the people of Christ in their care.

We continue to affirm our belief in the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

We hold out to a broken and needy world the better story of God’s redeeming love that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Safeguarding is at the heart and soul of our theology and mission. That’s why we are committed to promoting a Safer Church.

All content © St Nicholas Sevenoaks 2024.

Build by ninefootone creative.

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.

Necessary

Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
PHPSESSID	session	To identify your unique session on the website
SESS	session	To ensure that you are recognised when you move from page to page within the site and that any information you have entered is remembered.
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
wordpress_	session	WordPress cookie for a logged in user.
wordpress_logged_in_	session	WordPress cookie for a logged in user
wordpress_test_	session	WordPress cookie for a logged in user
wordpress_test_cookie	session	WordPress test cookie
wp-settings-	1 year	WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.
wp-settings-time-	1 year	WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Cookie	Duration	Description
PHPSESSID	session	To identify your unique session on the website
SESS	session	To ensure that you are recognised when you move from page to page within the site and that any information you have entered is remembered.
wordpress_	session	WordPress cookie for a logged in user.
wordpress_logged_in_	session	WordPress cookie for a logged in user
wordpress_test_	session	WordPress cookie for a logged in user
wordpress_test_cookie	session	WordPress test cookie
wp-settings-	1 year	WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.
wp-settings-time-	1 year	WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.

Performance

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Cookie	Duration	Description
__utma	permanent	This cookie keeps track of the number of times a visitor has been to the site pertaining to the cookie, when their first visit was, and when their last visit occurred. Google Analytics uses the information from this cookie to calculate things like Days and Visits to purchase.
__utmb	session	__utmb is a Google Analytics cookie. It takes a timestamp of the exact moment in time when a visitor enters a site.
__utmc	30 mins	__utmc takes a timestamp of the exact moment in time when a visitor leaves a site.
__utmz	6 months	Keeps track of where the visitor came from, what search engine you used, what link you clicked on, what keyword you used, and where they were in the world when you accessed a website. This cookie is how Google Analytics knows to whom and to what source / medium / keyword to assign the credit for a Goal Conversion or an Ecommerce Transaction.

Others

Introduction

Pope Callixtus III has a lot to answer for. Most of us won’t have ever heard of him before but he was the person responsible for linking the Feast of the Transfiguration to a date in the year when many of us are on holiday. Of course he had his reasons. In 1456 the Muslim Ottoman ruler, having already captured Constantinople a few years earlier, had decided to expand into Christian Europe. In July his forces came to Belgrade, after which most of central Europe would be at his mercy. However the siege of Belgrade was a turning point. Remarkably the defenders were not only able to resist but ultimately mount a successful counterattack. In recognition of this amazing deliverance, the Pope wanted to make a suitable public statement to express thanks to God. I am sure that there were all sorts of options open to him but in his wisdom he decided to commemorate 6 August as the Feast of the Transfiguration. And so, whilst every Christian knows which date to focus on the birth of Christ or His death and resurrection, most years we will skip past one of the key moments relating to the identity of Christ in the church year … because we’re on holiday.

It’s the same with the ascension of Christ, always on a Thursday ten days before Pentecost, another neglected area in our Christian thinking. But at the very least the Ascension is linked firmly with the Resurrection of Christ. Having been raised from the dead, Jesus then ascends to the Father in order that His Spirit will be poured out, before His eventual return. So at least the ascension features within our biblical framework even if it also languishes slightly on the sidelines.

But the Transfiguration of Christ appears to have no particular tie to any other part of the Church year other than the date allocated by Pope Callixtus III. Of course it can be read and studied at any point in any season. It’s also true that preachers can select from any of the synoptic gospels or even from 2 Peter 1:16-18 in order to feast on its message whenever they desire. Yet, because there is no fixed date other than in the middle of the annual school summer holidays, these passages tend to have no home and the Transfiguration floats around in our consciousness adrift from everything else. As a consequence it can become neglected with the result that we miss out on the wonders of one of the most precious incidents in the gospels.

So, given that the Feast of the Transfiguration is likely to remain linked to 6 August for the foreseeable future I have a suggestion. Why not make a virtue out of this date falling right in the middle of the school holiday season? Why not focus our holiday devotional times with the Lord on the Transfiguration? If we are fortunate enough to have two weeks set aside out of our normal routines, how about spending time feeding from this portion of God’s word in order to be nourished more and more in our appreciation of the Lord Jesus Christ? What about considering the idea of slowing down in our devotional life in order to savour more of the identity of our Lord Jesus Christ so that, rather than rushing from one passage to the next, we linger with one main passage and explore all the hidden depths that we can?

The fourteen brief explorations which follow are designed to bring this neglected area back into focus. Based primarily on Matthew’s version but considering the special insights provided by both Mark and Luke, the aim is to encounter Christ … the same Christ revealed at the Transfiguration! What a blessing it would be for us to return from our holidays not only physically recharged but also spiritually refreshed, having spent time looking at this Jesus. So even if Pope Callixtus III has unwittingly relegated the Transfiguration into a backwater of church life, let us use the opportunity provided by summer holidays and changes in routine to see the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:17 answered so that each of us might ‘know Christ better’.

DAY 1 : MATTHEW 16:21-28

Getting our bearings

Introduction

I use satnav but I prefer maps. Of course satnav is a wonderful tool to enable you to get to your holiday destination, provided you spell correctly in order to ensure that you are not directed to a similar sounding place a few hundred miles away. But there is a problem: though satnav can get you there, it doesn’t really show you where you are. A good Ordnance Survey map, at least in the hands of someone who knows which way up it should be held, provides the context. It helps to show how the single point of your destination relates to the whole of the surrounding countryside.

It’s the same with the Bible. It’s great to look at a particular verse or passage. But it will make much more sense when you are able to understand the surroundings. In other words the context will always help to make sense of the text. So, as we prepare to make Matthew 17:1-8 our holiday destination for the next few weeks we are deliberately going to get the map out first and look at the surrounding countryside so that we can see exactly where we are. We’ll need to focus on more than a verse or two as we’ll want to try to get a good view of the whole area. However, the aim of this first study is not to notice every single detail but to help us get our bearings for Matthew 17:1-8.

Read Matthew 16:21-28

21 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. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

‘From that time on …’ (16:21) introduces a new section within Matthew’s Gospel. The phrase was previously used at 4:17 to introduce Jesus’ public ministry. In getting an overview of Matthew, it is apparent that his first main section 4:17-16:20 focuses on the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It culminates in Peter’s recognition that Jesus is ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (16:16). The second main section runs from 16:21 onwards and introduces the momentous theme that Jesus will ‘go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’. Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection will take us to the end of the Gospel.

A very similar division is also apparent within Mark’s Gospel. It starts with the headline at Mark 1:1 ‘The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’. Part one of Mark comes to a climax with Peter’s recognition that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8:29). Part two comes to a climax with Jesus on the cross and the centurion’s recognition ‘Truly this man was the Son of God’ (Mark 15:39). So, Matthew and Mark follow the same broad approach of revealing the identity of Christ before moving on to consider His suffering, death and resurrection.

Indeed each of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, include the Transfiguration at exactly the same point in their narratives.

	Matthew	Mark	Luke
Peter's confession of Christ	16:13-20	8:27-30	9:18-20
Jesus' prediction of the cross	16:21-23	8:31-33	9:21-22
The call to the disciples	16:24-26	8:34-37	9:23-25
Jesus' prediction of return	16:27	8:38	9:26
Introducing the Transfiguration	16:28	9:1	9:27
The Transfiguration	17:1-8	9:2-8	9:28-36

So, what is happening in this new section of the Gospel?

First, we hear the paradoxical truth that Jesus, who has just been acknowledged as God’s anointed ruler (the Christ), is going to suffer and die in Jerusalem. It’s paradoxical because it simply doesn’t appear to make sense for the long hoped-for leader to die. That’s certainly how Peter assessed the situation (16:22). Yet Jesus’ robust reply (16:23) makes it crystal clear that Peter’s human perspective was completely wrong – he needed to see things from God’s perspective. In the coming days Jesus would reveal how His death would be a necessity (he must go – 16:21) so that the forgiveness of our sins would be made possible (26:28).

Second, Jesus speaks not just of His suffering and death but also of His resurrection (16:21) and future return in glory (16:27). Death would not be the end. Instead Jesus opens their eyes to the future and tells them of His glorious return as Judge. Not only is He revealing Himself as Saviour through His sacrificial death but He is also declaring Himself to be the Lord. The cross will be followed by the crown.

Third, within this section, Jesus instructs His disciples (16:24-26). Their pattern of life is to be shaped by the journey of Christ Himself. Just as Christ would take up His cross before entering glory, so that pattern must be embraced by His disciples. So, following Jesus will involve taking up the cross (16:24). Although such self denial is costly and is described by Jesus as ‘losing your life’ (16:25) the rewards are glorious. Refusing to embrace the pattern of the cross now is a recipe for disaster (16:26). Holding on to the crown now will only lead to suffering later. The cross followed by the crown is the journey which Jesus marks out both for Himself and His followers.

But, if we were to put ourselves into the sandals of Peter and the other disciples, how do we know for sure that suffering will be followed by glory? If they are being encouraged to follow the pattern of what will happen to the Lord Jesus, how do they know that this Jesus whom they have been following will end up in glory? And if they are unsure about what will happen to Jesus, how can they have confidence that their journey following Jesus will also end up in glory? These are the questions which will introduce our next study and prepare the way for the significance of the Transfiguration.

Reflection and prayer on Matthew 16:21-28

What are the most striking things we learn about Jesus’ purpose and identity in this passage?
What is the normal Christian life supposed to look like according to 16:24-26?
In what ways have you found the pattern of Christian discipleship to be profoundly counter-cultural?

Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Collect for The Third Sunday of Lent)