Kruger De Kock is the pastor of Canada Water Church in southeast London. This is a thriving part of the city, named for Canada Dock, a former shipping hub for incoming cargo from, mostly, Canada. Rev. Kruger, a native South African, planted Canada Water Church more than a decade ago.
He recently preached a sermon from 1 Peter 2.13-3.7. While this is a rather long sermon (about 53 minutes), he takes great pains to help us understand what it means to be in submission to others.
I share this sermon partly because Kruger is not afraid to addresses our calling to submit to those in authority after what has been a tense standoff between congregations and local officials. This has been particularly emotional for many of us as we feel the pressure of state authority in opposition to religious assembly. Peter seems to have something to say to this matter.
What you may not know is that this issue is very relevant to Christians in southeast London as they have watched the case of Protestants in Scotland. There, the Scottish government effectively banned assembled worship. In response, a group of 27 Scottish church leaders filed a judicial review that ultimately ruled in their favor. You can get a quick summary here. The Scottish government was forced to remove their restriction of assembly for churches, mosques, and synagogues.
While Kruger mentions the matter directly, he does not go beyond Scripture to chastise those pastors who did not file the complaint, nor those who did. Listen to how he wisely comments on a relevant practical matter in the life of the church, and listen to how he bounds his comments to the purpose of Scripture rather than freelancing his own opinion.
