I was sent this questionnaire by a mate and it’s rather chillingly called, insurance companies use it, it’s called the countdown calculator and it’s used to work out how long clients will live. So you fill in your date of birth, anyone does this? It’s rather fun actually. You fill in your date of birth and it says do you smoke, if so how often? Do you exercise regularly?

On average how much do you drink? Do you eat saturated fats? Saturated fats, just to say those are things like gooseberries, carrots and Brussels sprouts, don’t go near them they’ll kill you. And are you overweight, if so by how much? Honestly, I got on one of those motorway service station scales and it said, ‘one at a time please.’ How many hours’ sleep do you have a night? That was ok, I’m a clergyman, I only work one day a week, that’s not so bad. Is there a history of cardiovascular problems in your family? Have you ever been involved in a car accident, if so how many? They think you’re some psycho or something, how many times have you had an accident you know. Do you wear a seat belt? On it goes. Do you have casual unprotected sex?

On it goes, on it goes. Anyway you answer all these things on the countdown calculator and then it tells you, this is amazing, your age of death and your date of death.

I tell you what I did it, I had a salad for lunch, I went for a run and I was in bed by 10.15pm. I know that, unless Jesus comes first, I will die one day. I don’t know if you realise but we all have a sexually transmitted disease, it’s called life and it’s fatality rate is 100%.

But because of what we read in Mark 16, the ultimate terror of death is removed. I know that I am trusting in what Jesus has done, and so I am right with God with whom I shall meet when I die. Does that sound arrogant? How can I be so sure that I am right with God? On the course we have seen the reality of our sin.
We know we are guilty, and we know what our sin is.
We know it is our failure to treat God as we should, and our failure to treat each other as we should. And we have seen that all evil comes from inside our hearts. That is what our sin is.

Read more here cc-vw.org/sermons/mark16ce.htm

This sermon is based on Session 6 on the Chritianity Explored Course