Sunday 21 April 2024: John 20:11-18

I have seen the Lord

When Mary turned away from the empty tomb, she saw Jesus standing there but she did not recognise Him. There are a number of explanations for why she did not recognise Jesus. Perhaps she was so overcome with emotion and with tears in her eyes she was not seeing or thinking clearly? Perhaps Mary was so convinced that Jesus was dead that she lost all hope of the promises He had made? Mary went to the tomb looking for a dead Jesus, buried in the tomb, but instead she was greeted by the risen Jesus.

Each of the gospels recall the account of Jesus’ appearance first to Mary and sometimes other women. This is no accident but demonstrates the importance of women in Jesus’ ministry. However, in Mark’s gospel we are told that the disciples did not believe it when Mary told them about the risen Christ. We do of course need to apply the Jewish culture at the time to what was happening. In the culture at the time, the testimony of a women was not highly regarded and therefore the disciples would have had good reason to question what Mary was saying. Secondly, Mary was from a place called Magdala which was regarded as a wicked place where wicked people came from. Mary had baggage and was not the person she was after she met Jesus. Thirdly, as we know Jesus drove demons out of Mary and hence they could have also questioned her sanity. If she had been possessed by demons before, then could she be trusted and relied upon to be a sound witness? They may have thought that since Jesus’ death, Mary was regressing back to her old self, after all she was claiming to see Jesus alive when they had all seen his body on the cross and would have known that He was wrapped in grave clothes and sealed in the tomb.

Do we sometimes tend to tarnish people with the sins of their past? Unlike God, do we fail to forgive and wipe the slate clean, giving people a fresh start to a new life, or do we tend to focus on what they have done in the past, thinking that they can’t possibly change their ways, or their attitudes. Maybe the disciples were struggling to give Mary the trust in her testimony that was due because of her past.

The proof of the resurrection for Mary was not simply the empty tomb. After all her first reaction to this was that someone had taken Jesus’ body and placed it somewhere else. The proof for Mary was in seeing the resurrected Christ – seeing the risen Lord. Mary was so excited that she grabbed for Jesus wanting to hang onto Him, or perhaps to prove that she was not going mad, or seeing a vision.

For Mary, she was trying to keep the relationship she had with Jesus the same. An earthly relationship where she could see and touch Jesus, but Jesus was saying to Mary that things were very different now that He had risen.

Jesus gave Mary some clear instructions: 1) to not cling onto me; and, 2) to go to the other disciples and tell them that He will be ascending to the Father. There were no niceties in their discussion, no small talk. Jesus was being direct and was on a mission. He was getting straight down to business and was telling Mary, “We have work to do and I want you to do it.”

Mary was experiencing a clear understanding of resurrection as Jesus invited her and others to live resurrected lives. Go and tell the others. This was a clear instruction to stop living for yourself and to rise and live a new life in service to God. Mary was an eyewitness to the most important spiritual news to have ever happened and she was entrusted with sharing this news and telling others that she had seen the Lord.

Mary exclaimed to her fellow disciples ‘I have seen the Lord’. Likewise, we are encouraged to tell others about the resurrected Jesus. It is not reserved for Priests or Elders, it is not reserved for those who have received formal biblical training, it is not reserved for men, it is also not reserved for those who appear to never sin. The proclamation of the risen Christ is for all who believe in it.

How do we respond to this? Do we go as boldly as Mary did, or is there a different story we could tell? Perhaps in our version of this story, Mary responds to Jesus by saying ‘but they may not believe me’, or ‘who am I, I am a woman and I won’t be taken seriously’ or perhaps Mary says ‘I am too busy, I have other more important things to do’, or maybe she says ‘but they will laugh at me, or think I am weird’?

Sadly, these versions of the story play out all too often in our lives. We may be so consumed by the busyness of life, that we have very little time left for Jesus.

Faith comes from hearing about Jesus, reading about Jesus, or seeing things about Jesus. If we never talk about Jesus to others and tell them about our encounter when we have seen the Lord, then they may never get to experience what we have experienced. Mary went without hesitation. She knew she had seen the Lord and was eager to share that news with others.

Mary saw Jesus in the garden, she saw Him physically. How does this compare to your experience of Jesus. We do not have the luxury of seeing the risen Jesus, but there are other ways that we can see and experience Him. The Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Maybe we see God the creator in seeing a flower or the delicate wings of a butterfly or the amazing night sky full of stars. Or maybe it is seeing a new born baby. Maybe it is seeing someone dedicating their life to help others and filled with the spirit of God to proclaim the Good News and work selflessly for others. Maybe it is in seeing someone give their life to serving God. Maybe it is seeing someone called to faith in Jesus and turning away from sinful things because that have found faith, living their lives for His sake rather than for their own.

Whatever your experience or encounter, take a leaf of out Mary’s book and boldly proclaim that you have ‘seen the Lord’. 

Sunday 14 April2024: John 16:25-33

I have overcome the world

Why is it that Jesus spoke in parables? Some say it was to help those around Him better understand what He was trying to explain. We commonly jump to that conclusion because it is how we sometimes use figures of speech. When we are trying to communicate a complex idea to someone, we often resort to more simple analogies to help them understand what we are saying. The goal is that they will understand what we are saying because we have adapted it to their way of thinking.

However, this was not necessarily the purpose of why Jesus spoke in parables. If His purpose had been to make things more understandable, then why, in our reading, is He promising to now speak ‘plainly’ about the Father? The implication is that, up until this time, He has purposefully made it more difficult for them to understand.

We need to remember that Jesus is ushering in a new era in human history, which is to say that God is about to make a New Covenant with His chosen people. That New Covenant will be different to the old. One of the primary ways it will be different is in the pouring out of His Spirit resulting in our being able to clearly understand His Word.

The promise of the Spirit leading us into all truth and helping us understand is set out in two key verses:

First, in John 14:26, it says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you;” and, second, in John 16:13, it says, “ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

There is also a secondary reason that might have something to do with judgment. Although we await our ultimate judgment, perhaps there is a sense in which Jesus’ words heaped judgment on the consciences of those whose evil deeds were exposed by His teaching?

If those who heard Jesus had a heart for God and a heart which tried to understand, then perhaps they would have been able to put his teaching into practice in their lives. But those who rejected Jesus for His words – well, they hated Him without a cause. Why? Because, according to Hebrews 4:12, His words, even though they may have been veiled, pierced their hearts and convicted their consciences. And as Mark says in His Gospel at chapter 4, verse 22, “You cannot be around the Light and not have your deeds exposed.”

So we might conclude that the Spirit is not only to help Christians, but also to convict the world. 

Therefore, when Jesus says that he will now tell them ‘plainly’ about the Father, He is indicating again that they are on the verge of a new era. The judgment that had fallen upon God’s chosen people for their unbelief, Jesus would now take on His shoulders at the cross. 

Let us now look again at verses 26 to 28 of our reading which says, “In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.’

First, we can note that God loves us because we love Jesus. When God sent His Son, it was a catalyst for change, and Jesus was explaining that change to His disciples. Our Love of Jesus is the prerequisite to obtaining the love of the Father. Yet, it was Jesus who chose them and loved them first, and their response was obedience and love which pleased the Father.

Second, we can be clear that it isn’t Jesus who loves us alone; the Father loves us too. In fact, it is the Father’s amazing love that set Jesus’ mission in the first place. Jesus has provided a way for us to have a relationship with God. We can now draw close to the Father, and Jesus urges us to ask for things from Him. He gives us His Word, fills us with His Spirit, and these gifts help us to know His Will.

Previously, people approached God through priests, but after Jesus’ resurrection, any believer can approach the Father directly. We approach God, not because of our own merit, but because Jesus has made us acceptable to God. And that is an amazing blessing!

Third, verse 28 summarises the whole journey Jesus made. He came from heaven and came into the world, and now He’s leaving the world and going back to the Father. Later the next day, He will say the same thing to Pontius Pilate. Until this time, Jesus had intimated that He was leaving, but now He plainly says that He is going to be leaving for His heavenly destination.

Now we move to verses 29 to 32 of our reading where it says, “Then Jesus’ disciples said, ‘Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.’ ‘Do you now believe?’ Jesus replied. ‘A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

There is more than a hint of a telling-off in the words of Jesus when He says, “Do you now believe?” It is almost as if He is saying “Oh, now you believe? Where have you been for the last three years?” The disciples had been relying on Jesus, and we are the same. We make a mistake if we stop that reliance and instead assume ourselves to be independent and self-sufficient. 

Despite the disciples’ belief and reliance, Jesus says a time is coming when they will be scattered. He is concerned primarily to reassure them about the events that are just about to happen. And it also fulfils a prophecy from Zechariah 13:7 which says:

“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.”

Jesus is going to take upon Himself all the wrath of God’s judgment that was meant for you and me. 

And notice how the disciples are regarded – they are called “the little ones” and “the sheep.” For all their confidence, they would later see this prophecy and, no doubt, feel humbled by who they are in comparison to who God is.

These three verses conclude with a reassurance to the disciples. Although Jesus is telling them they will be scattered because they will be afraid of admitting their allegiance to Him, that is not to worry them because He says the Father will be with Him! No matter where Jesus went, no matter what happened, the Father was with Him. And we can take comfort that the same is true for us today.

And so we move to the final verse of our reading, verse 33, which says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Not only is Jesus with us but there is a good reason for Him being with us – because He has overcome the world. The fact that He is with us wouldn’t be much help if He wasn’t also powerful!

And could there be two ways in which Jesus has overcome the world? Could it be that the perfect life He lived overcomes the ways of the world that are dominated by Satan and also that, by His death, burial, and resurrection He triumphs over the powers that rule this world?

First, He lived a perfect life – there was no spot or blemish in Him and, in this way, Satan wasn’t able to hold anything over Him.

Second, there is a sense of looking forward to His work on the cross. As Paul puts it, in Colossians 2:15, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

And so the battle has been won decisively at the cross. And if we are believers in Him, then we, as a consequence, have been victorious in Him. His victory is our victory.

All of this is said in the context of Jesus ‘staring down the barrel’ of His coming trial. Similar trials will mark the lives we lead in this world, but there is a joy, which we can look forward to because, ultimately, He has “overcome the world.” Not just “will” overcome, but “has” overcome. And because of His victory, His power lives in us through the indwelling of the Spirit. 

Perhaps one of the best New Testament passages to align with these thoughts is in Romans 8:31-39 which similarly comforts us that we will never be separated from Jesus. It says this:

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The reality of this triumph needs to be applied daily to our lives, just as Jesus applied it to the hearts and minds of His disciples on the brink of what must have seemed to them to be a complete and utter disaster.

Think of all that has been going on in the world in recent times, let alone our individual lives. Just a few examples are that we have endured a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis, there is the Russia-Ukraine war and its worldwide consequences, and now the Israel-Gaza conflict which threatens to escalate to unthinkable levels.

Therefore, when we encounter trials that we think are ‘disasters’, we can remember that the ultimate victory has already been won and we can claim the peace of Christ in the most troubled of times.

Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.”

Sunday 7 April 2024: John 11:1-27

I am the Resurrection

The reading is about the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus was a friend to Jesus and was the brother of Martha and Mary. They lived in a place called Bethany, which was two miles southeast of Jerusalem.

There are actually ten accounts of resurrection, or bringing back to life, that are recorded in the Bible.

It was just before the resurrection of Lazarus, and sometime before His own, when Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

The sign and reality of resurrection are seen in Lazarus and the others who were resurrected, and in Jesus. The sign of resurrection was shown in Lazarus and the others mentioned earlier and provide an earthly analogy to resurrection. What happened to Lazarus, and many of the others, may be identified more accurately as physical restoration or resuscitation. But there are many contrasts between Lazarus and Jesus’ resurrections.

• They were both buried in a tomb. Now as we know, it was custom practice to be buried in a tomb that was a kind of cave or excavation cut into rock. So it is not surprising that Lazarus was also buried in a tomb.
• They had both been dead for a few days when they were resurrected. Jesus we know rose on the third day, but Lazarus had been in his tomb for four days. Martha’s comment in verse 39 makes us realise that they expected his body would have already started to decompose: “But Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.” Martha was expecting that the natural process of decomposition would have already started to take place and therefore did not believe that Jesus was able to resurrect Lazarus. She thought that it was too late and she had little faith. Jesus picks up on this when he said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” In other words, Jesus was saying to Martha, have faith in me because nothing is impossible for God.
• Both Jesus and Lazarus had a stone that sealed up their tombs. Again this is not surprising as tombs were usually sealed with a large round stone, usually rolling in a grove to cover the entrance to the tomb.
• However, in verse 14, we know that the men ‘took away the stone’. So when they arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, the stone was still in place, and it was sealed. They had to physically roll the stone away from the entrance before Lazarus could be resurrected and come out of the tomb. This contrasts with what happened with Jesus:

o  John 20:1 – Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

o  Mark 16:4 – But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

o  Luke 24:2 – They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

• So, these three accounts tell us that Jesus needed no human help to move the stone that was sealing His tomb. It does not tell us who or how the stone was rolled away. However, in Matthew 28:2, we are told that ‘an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.’
• When Lazarus came out of the tomb, he was still bound by his grave clothes. In verse 44 it says, ‘The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “take off the grave clothes and let him go.”’
• In contrast, Jesus’ grave clothes were left folded in his tomb. John 30:6 says, ‘Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head.’ The grave clothes did not still bind Jesus as they did Lazarus.
• Finally, Lazarus after his resurrection, returned to earthly relationships but eventually died again. After his resurrection he returned home to live with Martha and Mary. Lazarus was a sign of resurrection, but this would not have lasted and, when it was time, he would have died again.
• Jesus however is the reality of resurrection. God raised Jesus to a new life that no longer knew death. He defeated death when He rose again. His resurrection was not simply a continuation of His life, and He went back to living how He lived before. His resurrection was the annihilation of death to a new, eternal life.
• Through the resurrection of Jesus, God said “no” to the judgment hall, “no” to Calvary, “no” to the crucifixion, “no” to the tomb, and “no” to living always in Good Friday.

Before Jesus went to Lazarus’ tomb to raise him from the dead, Jesus said to Martha “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

When we believe and trust the Lord and say “yes” to Him, we are accepting this wonderful Easter gift. Far better than Easter eggs that get eaten and are soon forgotten. Far better that an Easter flower basket, where the flowers soon wither and drop their petals.

Easter reminds us that, even though we are human and will ultimately die and go to our grave, God never stops loving us, even when our bodies die. We matter to Him and He loves us.

God made us in His own image, and He made His Son in that same image. His Son who came to earth to live as we do, struggle as we do, weep as we do, doubt and be tempted as we do, and died as we do. However, the big difference is that Jesus, although He died, He was fully resurrected into a new, perfect body. A resurrected body that enabled Him to defy the laws of nature and physics during His time spent on earth before He ascended to be with His Father.

The promise Jesus provides to Martha and to us in this passage are very comforting. We are promised that, even though we die, we still live. Our spirit lives on, and will do for eternity when we eventually go to be with our Father. 

Sunday 31 March 2024: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Messiah would be despised, rejected, afflicted, pierced, crushed and disfigured beyond recognition. Do you remember, on Easter Sunday evening on the road to Emmaus, His disciples did not recognise Him? He was disfigured beyond recognition. People would turn away from Him and He would be killed – cut off from the land of the living – as Isaiah put it. All of that happened before, during, or immediately after the crucifixion.

Isaiah hit the nail on the head and gets full marks as a prophet. Except that he made a big mistake, didn’t he? He said Jesus was assigned a grave with the wicked, which was right, but how could Isaiah suggest that Jesus would be given a grave with the rich? That surely cannot be right, can it? There should be no way that someone cursed and convicted, as Jesus was, could be buried among the rich.

For Isaiah’s prophecy to be fulfilled, it would require a miracle. It would require a rich and respectable man to come forward to ask for the body of that despised criminal, Jesus, and to bury Him in his own grave, at his own expense, in a posh ceremony!

Enter Joseph of Arimathea, the answer to Isaiah’s prayers. Matthew tells us, in his account, that Joseph was a rich man, but we could have worked that out for ourselves, because Matthew also tells us that he had a new tomb which had been cut out of the rock. That would have been seriously expensive to prepare. Matthew also tells us that it was Joseph’s own tomb, so he was rich enough to cut another later for himself.

John 19:38 says that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus’. That verse also tells us that he was a secret disciple. He had to be, because he was a prominent member of the Jewish ruling council. Therefore, he would have been one to make speeches and proposals, and to call for votes. So, of course he had to be secret about following Jesus. The night before the crucifixion, the council had voted for Jesus’ death. We know from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark that it was a unanimous vote, so Joseph must have conveniently absented himself for it to have been unanimous. He was a wily politician to have kept out of the way when the vote took place. We know this, too, because Luke tells us that Joseph had not consented to the decision to crucify Jesus.

But now Joseph could not be secret any more because, to fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy, he had to go to the Governor, Pilate, to ask for the body of Jesus. That would have made him a traitor in the eyes of his colleagues who had condemned Jesus to death and it would have meant the end of his reputation.

Jesus still has many secret disciples today. Some are secret part-time. They may be open disciples in church by joining in with the hallelujahs and the hymns, but at work, or at school. or down the pub, they don’t do religion and they keep Jesus out of it.

Paul said in Romans 10:9 that if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. In other words, secrecy can never be a permanent option for the Christian. Every secret disciple will reach the point where silence equals a betrayal of Jesus. This is because the heart will be imploring the mouth to declare faith, whereas the mind will be thinking of the cost in terms of reputation, promotion or mockery and says, “Keep quiet!” If we allow the mind to overrule the heart, it would equal betrayal. Joseph had reached that point where he could not be silent any more.

If it was a miracle that this rich and prominent member of the ruling council was prepared to ruin his reputation, then it was another miracle that the Governor gave him the body of Jesus. The custom was to throw the body of a condemned criminal into a pit to be consumed by fire. But Pilate, in another fulfilment of prophecy, yielded-up Jesus’ body, allowing Joseph to bury Him in his own grave.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that Joseph was not alone. He had the assistance of another member of the Jewish ruling council called Nicodemus, who himself had a good reputation. When we are brave enough to step forward and show our faith, it encourages others to step forward and show their faith too. We may think that we are the only one in our street, in our school, or in our workplace who believes in Jesus. But we don’t know. And it may be that, by standing up and being counted, we might just encourage someone else – like Nicodemus – to do the same.

Those who took part in Good Friday’s ‘Walk of Witness’ would have found it much easier being part of the crowd than by being alone in the town trying tell others about their faith. How much easier it is when there are others by our side; that is why God gave us the Church so that we can be brothers and sisters in arms. We must pray for those Christians who are isolated, whether imprisoned, in exile, or in countries where it is deadly serious to declare their faith.

Nicodemus was the one who visited Jesus at night because he, too, was not at all sure he wanted to be seen with Jesus. So, as he stepped forward with Joseph, it was now two prominent people who could not go back to their old lives. But Nicodemus brought gifts – 75 pounds in weight of myrrh and aloes! He would honour Jesus with a burial fit for a king. Did not those three wise men have a vision of this very day? For myrrh was used for the preservation of a body at the time of burial.

Nothing further is written about Joseph and Nicodemus, which raises the question as to whether they were driven out of town. But might Joseph had heard Jesus say that, on the third day, He would rise again? If so, Joseph would know that he would not need to cut a second tomb, because he was only loaning his tomb to Jesus – a short-term let for three days. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and would not need to return to that tomb again.

Later on, we know that Jesus met with the Apostles, and later still, according to 1 Corinthians 15, Paul tells us that He also appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time. Might Joseph and Nicodemus have been there too?

We all have a tomb waiting for us. It might not have been dug yet, but we will all have one. Just like Joseph’s tomb, ours is empty. Our bones may go into it for a while, but our tomb will always be empty, because Jesus said in John 5:25, “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”

So, let us be brave like Joseph. Let us declare with our mouths and with our lives that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead so that we will be saved. Though, like Joseph, we may well disappear from history, we will attain and enjoy eternal life! 

Sunday 24 March 2024: Acts 17:16-34

Imagine for a moment that you are watching someone cross the road, but they haven’t seen the bus coming towards them. As it becomes more certain that the bus will hit them, you will, at the very least, shout a warning. And that warning, if it is heeded, will save them from certain death. That, in a way, is what Paul did for the people of Athens – except his message was far more important.

As Paul walked through the city and saw all those idols, his love for the people compelled him to share the Gospel of Jesus with them. But it wasn’t an easy task because Athens had a pagan culture and many would be reluctant to heed his warning.

Maybe we can empathise with Paul’s distress over the vast array of idols he had seen in the city as well as the pagan philosophies he had heard. We are in the same situation in our country today. Our culture has become overrun with worthless idols and pagan philosophies.

The idols may be different today, but they can be just as harmful: money, possessions, sex, work, fame and the famous, to name but a few. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these things, but when they are treated like gods, they become idols. Everyone needs money to survive; but when our whole life revolves around making or protecting our money, it becomes an idol.

Pagan philosophies, like those of the Epicureans and Stoics, continue to thrive. Many people believe that there is no afterlife; when we die, our bodies are buried or cremated and that’s it. And that’s where we might hear many people say their goal in life is simply to be happy. Well, there is nothing wrong with being happy – after all that’s what God wants for us, too. But happiness on its own is sad, because if it is without Jesus, then ultimately it will lead to nothing more than death.

How about us? What is our goal in life? If the Apostle Paul walked through the streets of our lives, what kind of philosophies would he hear and what kind of idols would he see? If he found anything that was more important to us than God, it would be an idol.

So, while Paul was preaching in the marketplace, a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue with him. Both of these pagan philosophies attempted to bring some kind of meaning to life. Since Jesus, and the idea of resurrection, did not fit into their belief systems, they cast Paul off as a foolish babbler who was promoting a foreign god who they had never heard of before.

The philosophers took Paul to the Areopagus, which means “hill of Ares” (the Greek god of war), to meet with the city council. This was the usual place where people from Athens and foreigners met to discuss new ideas. They were curious to see what this new religious fad might be. Paul took the opportunity to stand among them, to critique their religion, and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. He acknowledged that they were very religious people, but they worshipped gods they did not know. So, he told them about a God they could know!

As Paul stood up and preached, he described in detail the one true God whom they could know. He presented five points that revealed the nature and work of the true God: creation; sovereignty; repentance; judgment; and, resurrection.

Paul’s sermon was a powerful summary of the Gospel of Jesus. He used these five points to introduce the one true God of the universe to a pagan culture. Now they had enough information to make a decision. Would they repent or reject?

First, many denied Paul’s message! When he mentioned that God resurrected His Son from the dead, they sneered and stopped listening to him. Greeks did not believe in resurrection.

The second response to Paul’s sermon was delay. Whereas most of the people in the Areopagus denied the Gospel, we can note from our reading that there were some others who wanted to hear him again on this subject. They neither accepted nor rejected his message, but they kept an open mind until they could find out more about this God.

And finally, there were a few in the crowd who decided to become disciples. They were persuaded by Paul’s message about the one true God, repented of their sins, put their faith in Jesus, and became committed followers.

It is disappointing to see so many deny the Gospel and so few become disciples. As in Paul’s day, we too see many in our country and around the world wanting to hold on to their cultural beliefs, superstitions, idols, and pagan philosophies rather than becoming disciples of Jesus.

But God has called us to be faithful in being His witnesses. We can expect most people to deny our message, but we shouldn’t let that discourage us. Let us continue to share what we have been given so that the Good News fills our homes, schools, workplaces, and communities, because we never know when someone might just respond positively and become a true disciple of Jesus. 

Sunday 17 March 2024: Psalm 23

In Psalm 23, David, who was a shepherd, is using the analogy of sheep and their nature to explain what we, his children, are like. Sheep, like us, tend to wander off on the wrong path and get lost. As believers we too tend to do the same, to wander off, go our own way, make our own path, instead of the path God wants us to lead, and then we can get lost.

Isaiah 53:6 says, ‘we all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way’.

It is in our nature to wander away, turn down the wrong path, get lost and maybe even forget the way back to God. In this psalm, David reminds us that we need to follow God and he will tend us, guide us, comfort us, nourish us, protect us, and provide for us.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want

Sheep are helpless and may not survive long without a shepherd on who they are dependant. Like them, we are dependent on our Shepherd, the Lord, to guide us, protect us and care for us. The shepherd goes before his flock and leads them. The sheep know his voice and so follow him.

When we accept that the Lord Jesus died for us and we receive Him by faith, then He promises that He will meet our needs. When we follow Him, He knows exactly what we need.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul

Rest is important for sheep and the shepherd will know the best places to ensure that his sheep can rest and be safe. God deals with us in the same way and ensures that we can rest and be unburdened. Have you ever tried to go to bed and sleep when there is something troubling you? You lie awake mulling things over in your mind, but if we turn these things over to God then we find it easier to rest.

Psalm 55:22 says, ‘cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee’.

God heals a troubled mind and forgives our sins.

God gives us refreshment. When we feed upon the Word of God, our soul drinks deep from the cool, still waters and we feel refreshed and renewed. We are washed out from the inside, and we can sense spiritual life springing up inside us. The Good Shepherd leads us to have rest and refreshment which restores our soul.

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

As children of God, we are called to follow Him in the same way that sheep follow a shepherd. We go where He goes, we follow where He leads. He gives us the moral direction of the path we are called to follow and the work we do is for His glory.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The shepherd leads us not only beside still waters of rest and the paths of righteousness, but also through pain, trouble and sorrow. We are not promised a life without these when we chose to follow Him, but He promises that He is always with us, that He will never leave us. There is no need for us to fear anything, not even death, because the Lord is always with us. The sting of death is sin; sin that is unconfessed and unforgiven. But Christ defeated sin on the cross and paid the debt for our sins once and for all. Now, we are promised that the worst thing that death can do is actually the start of a wonderful eternity with our Lord. Death has lost its sting, because we know as Christians that this is the time when we are called home to be with our Lord.

The shepherd’s rod and staff are sources of comfort, protection and guidance. He may use them in order to guide and protect. In the same way, the Lord uses his commandments and Gospel to act as our guide and protection.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

The Lord spreads His spiritual blessings on the table for us and supplies all that we need in this world, where we may encounter our enemies and the devil. The Lord does not get rid of our enemies, but equips us to sit in their presence. There may be many conflicts, but we have all we need to equip us, and we can sit at the Lord’s table with confidence and with the Lord’s security.

Shepherds anoint the heads of their sheep to soothe any scratches and wounds. The anointing of a priest is an act of consecration to their work and for kings this is associated with a coronation. We are anointed with the Holy Spirit when we receive our Saviour, and when we receive the grace we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, we burst with grateful acknowledgment of being saved.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the lord for ever.

This last line of this wonderful psalm assures us that, when we accept the Lord as our Shepherd, our Saviour, our counsellor, our guide, we receive the blessing of His goodness and mercy all through our earthly life. Eventually, we are called back to Him, and we reach our Father’s house in heaven where we can rest is His eternal dwelling place. This is our hope, this is power of our Lord. This is His promise to us all.

Sunday 10 March 2024: Philippians 1:3-11

Incarnational living

Today’s message is about incarnational living. Often, when we are talking about the incarnation, we are thinking about Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, Word becoming flesh. God's only son coming to earth as a man, living amongst his people, serving and dying. John 1:14 says, ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.’ Basically, God’s son came to earth and lived exactly as we do and where we live.

In Philippians 2:7, Paul writes, ‘he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant’.  Jesus is the son of God Incarnate, the God of all creation embodied in human flesh and living with His people. And we too are called as His people, to be like Jesus to others, to live with others and to embody His presence where we are. This is what living incarnationally means.  But in order to live as Jesus lived while He was on earth, we have to understand how He lived, what He did and which specific actions we should imitate in order to live incarnationally.

• Staying connected with the Father – Jesus stayed connected to His Father, He took time to pray and connect with God, He took time out to be alone and to reflect, He knew the scriptures and internalised them. To live incarnationally in our world, we need to stay connected to the Father as Jesus did. Everything we do should be with Jesus and His teaching in mind.

• Living with purpose – Jesus knew what He was doing and where He was going. He had a purpose. Jesus said, “the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.” Jesus was fully aware of why He had come to earth and what He needed to accomplish while He was here. We need to understand what our purpose is and walk with a purpose for God.

• Dwelling among the people – Jesus was close to those who needed Him. He lived with them, He ate with them, He travelled with them, He cried with them. Jesus knew that He could not minister from afar. Jesus knew that, in order to bring the Good News, He would need to live among those whom He served. Likewise, we need to be among others to be close to people in order that they can see the light of Jesus in us.

• Engaging authentically with others – Jesus interacted with others on a personal level. He used stories that they could relate to in order to illustrate His message. He used language that they could understand and had honest conversations with those He encountered. How we bring the message of hope to others is important. Using language they can understand is important, and treating others as individuals and not just one of a crowd.

• Serving the least of these – in Matthew 25:34-40, Jesus talks about the least of these, the hungry, the thirsty, strangers, the sick, those in prison. Jesus focused on the downtrodden and outcast during His ministry on earth. He did not shy away from going to places that others thought would be unsavoury, or speaking to those who were considered outcasts. The way Jesus engaged with the least of these challenges us to do likewise.

• Calling people to follow Jesus – Jesus did not shy away from calling people to leave everything to follow Him. He asked a lot of His disciples and knew they would have to make big sacrifices for his sake. But Jesus did not use a blanket ‘one-size-fits-all’ message to bring people to Him; He carefully chose how to approach different people in different ways to draw them to Him. Whether that was a gentle and tender approach or a more direct message that cut straight to the heart, or a simple invitation ‘follow me.’ We too need to be accepting of where people are, but bring out the grace and truth of Jesus and give encouragement to those around us. Do not be afraid to call people to follow Jesus for fear of rejection, for they would not be rejecting us but rejecting the Lord.

Of all of these, the most important thing to remember is that we don’t necessarily have too actually ‘do’ anything. Last week, we heard about how our lives can be so busy, so full of stuff that sometimes we forget just to be. We can spend so much time on doing things that we forget that we need to take a breath, allow time for God to speak to us and can just be in the presence of others. How we relate to others around us is possibly just as important, if not more important than what we say to them about the Gospel. How we relate to others is about working for others, working with others, being for others and being with others.

Working for – doing something to make the lives of others better. This may be helping at a food bank, getting someone’s shopping or taking care of their needs.

Working with – means to work in partnership; learning, serving and growing together.

Being for others is about being an advocate, speaking on another’s behalf.

Being with is about listening, not having all the answers but just being there.

Being with is often the most important aspect of relating to others. We don’t always have to try to fix things or to do things. Sometimes the greatest thing we can do for others is to just listen, be a sounding board, being in their presence. For some people, being with is something that they do every day. Think about carers, they may just be with those they are caring for, spending time with them, talking to them and listening.

During lockdown it was really hard to be with others because we couldn’t actually physically meet each other. People felt isolated and lonely. But we connected with each other through a telephone call, or a ‘Zoom’ call to have a chat and make sure others were ok and to bring encouragement to each other. A few weeks ago, I spoke about the time when you may have had an encounter with someone you haven’t seen for a while, and I spoke about how those encounters may be what they really needed at that time. A friendly ear to listen to them. Being with is what incarnational living is all about. Being the presence of Jesus where we are placed.

Let’s think about Paul’s situation when he was in prison, not able to see others and being distant from his friends. Paul was desperate to see the Philippians again. Verse 8 says, ‘God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus’.

It was not possible for Paul to be with the Philippians physically at that time, so he lived incarnationally by sending a letter full of love, grace and encouragement. Paul was telling them how much they matter and that he continues to pray for them even though he cannot actually see them.

Verse 7 says, ‘It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me’.

What does being with look like for you? What does living incarnationally mean to us? Like Jesus we need to:

• stay connected to our Father, spending time reading the Bible, praying and listening to God;
• recognise that we all have a purpose for God and fulfil that purpose with boldness and an eager heart;
• we need to connect with other people, not just with those who come to church, but others we meet and interact with them in a way that is individualised to their needs;
• we need to reach out to those less fortunate than us, helping where we can; and,
• we need to boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus to others so that they too may be called and receive His grace.

Paul was living in a tough place, in prison, and in chains, and yet he still managed to live incarnationally. What happens to us when things get tough, we are in tough place either because of where we live, who we live with, or the people around us. Do we shy away when things start getting tough or do we stand steadfast as Paul did? In Philippians 1:27-28, Paul said, ‘Stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the Gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.’

Living incarnationally for us may not be what you would think of as something amazing, but we are all placed exactly where we need to be to bring the message of grace and hope of Jesus.

Sunday 3 March 2024: Matthew 16:21-26

Be Intentional

One of the things most of us complain about most bitterly is how busy life seems to be these days. Just as the roads now seem to be clogged up with cars, our lives seem to be clogged up with so many things we need to do. But I wonder how many of those things we perceive as important, or even urgent, actually accomplish anything or align with God’s purpose.

Some most certainly do, of course, but there is a song you may have heard in a TV ad recently for a well-known energy company – and I believe it originates from the soundtrack of the movie ‘Christopher Robin’ – where the lyrics go like this:

I'm busy, busy, busy doin' nothin'
Doin' nothin', that's the life for me
For when I'm doin' nothin', I'm busy doin' somethin'
Somethin' that suits me to a tee.

There is a great temptation to live life just keeping busy, doing whatever comes to hand. But the key to living in line with God’s purpose is to be intentional.

So, what does that look like in practice in the life of Jesus. It would be an understatement to say that Jesus lived intentionally. In our reading just now, we heard of Jesus being intentional in His teaching. Matthew describes this by saying, “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Use of the word ‘must’ means it is an unqualified requirement.

Note that Matthew also says ‘from that time on’. It was here that Jesus began a new emphasis in His ministry. He started preparing His disciples for His passion. That was a very intentional change, and it is appropriate that we ourselves are drawing closer to Passiontide which is now just three weeks away.

Peter rebuked Jesus for His words. He was Jesus’ friend and a devoted follower who, in just a few verses prior to the passage we are focusing on today, had eloquently proclaimed Jesus’ true identity when he said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” In rebuking Jesus, Peter was seeking to protect Him from the suffering He prophesied.

Thinking back a couple of weeks when we considered together the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, Peter’s message was perhaps similar to that of Satan himself. It was a human response to human thinking. Jesus again resisted the temptation before Him and replied, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Jesus was telling Peter that God was not his priority and that he was operating with a different perspective, a different purpose and a different way of thinking.

We can conclude that nothing was to get in the way of Jesus following God’s mission and purpose for Him. Nothing was to stop Jesus from having to suffer, to die, to rise again, so that we and all God’s people who believe and trust in Him can be set free. Free from the power of sin and the terrible fear of death, to find life now and in the time to come.

We all know how easy it is to become distracted, and that could easily have happened to Jesus if He had given in to Peter’s rebuke. But Jesus then addressed all His disciples, not just the few who were there, but all of us, when he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

This means saying “no” to that which is within us and is pushing us to make our own agenda a priority, and saying “yes” to God’s agenda, however costly that may be. On Friday evening, you may have heard the Prime Minister speaking on the steps of 10 Downing Street about the challenges of those who face persecution and hatred for what they believe in. Whatever our view might be of what he said, and why he said it, the people he was speaking about included us. There is a cost in standing up for what we believe. So, we need to put ourselves last, and Jesus first.

When Jesus used the analogy of believers taking up their cross and following Him, His disciples would have known what he meant. Crucifixion was a common Roman method of execution, and any condemned criminal had to carry their cross through the streets to the execution site.

Following Jesus, then, meant making a true commitment and not turning back. The disciples faced the real possibility of losing their lives by following Jesus. Real discipleship means real commitment. By pledging our lives to His service, we discover the real purpose of living. It enables us to look beyond the ‘here and now’ to the promise of eternal life with Jesus.

None of us, I am guessing, are particularly anxious for life to get any more difficult than it already is. But if we are to be intentional about following the way of Jesus, then maybe we need to recognise that, when life gets tough, perhaps that is the way it is meant to be? Because with God’s strength, we shall overcome. Jesus shows us the way when He says, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

For those who don’t know Jesus, the choices they make are as though there is no afterlife. But for those who do know Jesus, the reality is that this life is just the introduction to eternity. How we live this short period determines our eternal state. If we evaluate our lifestyle from an eternal perspective, we will find our values and decisions change to fit ever more closely with God’s purposes.

To really make a difference, we need to be intentional, learning from God’s Word and listening to God’s voice. We must respond to Jesus’ example by taking action at the right time in the everyday busy-ness of life.

The perplexing and troubling developments in our world today present us with an opportunity to lift ourselves out of our busy lives to focus on what is really important. Now more than ever, I suggest, we need to align ourselves as closely as possible with God’s purpose. We need to be intentional in surrendering ourselves to the Lord and, by using all the spiritual disciplines available to us, reaffirm in our hearts His leading for our lives of service.

Sunday 25 February 2024: 2 Kings 5:1-19

Influence who you can

Our reading tells us that Naaman was highly thought of in his home country of Aram, which was a neighbour of Israel. These two nations were, for much of the time, enemies. The Arameans were a war-loving people. Naaman was highly regarded and he won great battles for the king – he was brave and victorious. But – he had leprosy.

We can imagine the fear and anxiety that must have come upon Naaman, his wife and family. Maybe some of us have had a health scare in the past? Back in December, I had to have a CAT scan. All sorts of things go through your mind as you wait for the results, don’t they? It makes us rely on the Lord more, which is partly why He allows these things to happen, I think. Fortunately for me, it was nothing life-threatening and I could put it on the back-burner and get on with my life. I was grateful to the Lord for that.

When we have a health scare, it affects us greatly, and this was the case for Naaman. Eventually, he would have to be put out of the house and go into seclusion so that nobody else caught the leprosy.

We read about the little servant girl who said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” That little servant girl had been taken as a slave out of Israel and into that family. And yet she was helping her mistress. She would have seen her mistress was upset and would have known that her master was worried about the future. Here she was, offering help. How gracious!

Her message was taken notice of. Her influence was such that Naaman went to see the king and told him about the man in Samaria, a place in Israel, who could cure him. So, the king allowed Naaman to go, and he took with him silver and gold – a payment no doubt for his healing – and a letter from one king to another. Those kings did not like each other. The king of Israel called the king of Aram ‘this fellow’, and accused him of trying to pick a quarrel. So, he tore his clothes in anguish and anger.

Somehow, Elisha got to hear of this event. He sent a message to the king to send Naaman to him. And then Elisha did a very strange thing; he didn’t see Naaman himself, but instead sent his servant to tell Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times to be cleansed. Naaman, no doubt, was affronted that Elisha didn’t come personally to see him. He just sent his servant to tell him to wash in the dirty old Jordan river and Naaman did not want to do it.

But now, Naaman’s servants, unknown by name, have an influence on him. They said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, “Wash and be cleansed”!’ Their influence was such that they persuaded him. The miracle happened and he was healed of his leprosy.

So, Naaman and his servants went back to Elisha, the man of God, but Elisha refused to accept the gold and the silver and the clothing brought to him as a payment. Instead, Naaman requested to take back to his own land some of the soil in Israel as a reminder of the country where there is a God who works miracles. It was as if that miracle made him become a believer in God. He changed not only physically, but spiritually as well. And all because a little servant girl spoke up.

What about our influence? We have much more influence, I suggest, than that little servant girl. We have a wide range of family, neighbours and friends. It would amount to many thousands between us. How does our faith in Jesus affect other people. One way is when we are gracious; when we don’t expect a reward for helping someone; when we act out of unmerited favour towards others. We need to do that so often, don’t we? People sometimes do us down and say untruths about us. They think we are a bit loopy to go to church on a Sunday morning and we get all sorts of negative comments made about our faith.

How we react influences others. We should think about how we can influence those in our families, neighbours and friends who may be sympathetic, but don’t yet have a faith. An invitation to a church event might be one way to start that process of influence to eventually point them towards the Lord Jesus. 1 Peter 3:15 is a well- known piece of scripture which says, ‘Be ready to give a reason for the hope that lies within us’. Don’t leave it to the leaders of the church; don’t leave it to those who have the responsibility of preaching and teaching now and again. We can all play out part in seeking to influence others for good.

Elisha had huge influence. He was in touch with God in such a way that he could perform miracles. We get the story of his exploits between chapters 2 and 9 of 2 Kings. In chapter 2, he takes over from Elijah, he performs several miracles and his influence over the people of Israel is great. The last mention of him in chapter 9 is that he sends one of his prophets to anoint the next king of Israel, King Jehu.

Who knows what we might influence by giving someone an invitation; by making a point of mentioning our faith. We may be able to influence someone for good into the future. I am thinking of D L Moody, the famous American evangelist, whose story goes that, during his life, he prayed for a hundred men. By the time he died, and his funeral took place, 97 of those men had placed their faith in Jesus. But, at his funeral, the remaining three became Christians! That is quite a story of commitment in prayer, and prayer is another way we can influence situations and people.

In the final analysis of someone becoming a Christian, it is their decision. God will not force anyone to trust Him. We made that decision for ourselves when we started to follow Jesus. But don’t give up if you are praying on behalf of other folk. Realise that – if any of our family or friends are going to join the Christian path; are going to become believers in Jesus; are going to have their sins forgiven; are going to know eternal life – the Holy Spirit first has got to move. That’s a good thing to pray for, is it not? Because, after all, Jesus said, “Ask, seek and knock.” What for? The moving, the presence and the working of the Holy Spirit to guide, strengthen, rebuke, teach and comfort us in our lives and in the lives of those we are praying for to become Christians.

So, pray for the Holy Spirit and you will get an answer. The Holy Spirit will work on our behalf. It is still, of course, the decision of the person we are praying for, and we need to recognise that. But don’t give up. Our prayers mount up, they are kept in Heaven and are not wasted. One day, that extra little prayer that we had nearly given up on, might be the one that sets the Holy Spirit working in the lives of our friends and neighbours.

Let’s do all we can as witnesses to influence others. Let’s do all we can in prayer for those we long to see become Christians with us, so that we may all live in hope, receive forgiveness and enter eternal life together. 

Sunday 18 February 2024: Matthew 4:1-11

First Sunday of Lent – Jesus tempted in the wilderness

The wilderness that Jesus was driven into in our Bible reading was not a very pleasant place. It was more like a desert, a barren place with very little water or vegetation; a harsh climate; dangers lurking everywhere. It was definitely not somewhere that most people wanted to go – not for any length of time, at least. But Jesus went there, and spent forty long days there. After he was baptised by John, He went there to fast, and to be tested by Satan. But also, perhaps, to teach us about facing our own wilderness experiences. 

Whenever something happens to us that throws us off-balance, we can find ourselves in what we might call a wilderness. It could be the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. It might be getting ill, or losing a loved one. Or it could be a world-wide pandemic that we recently experienced. 

We can call all of these different experiences ‘wilderness experiences’. And we all know that these experiences can often be scary, sometimes lonely, or even times when God feels very distant from us. These wilderness experiences are challenging, and can even tempt us to turn from God. But they can also be times when they deepen our faith and change us in ways that are good.

These experiences are not always welcome, or chosen by us. And Jesus himself did not choose to go into the wilderness; He was led there by the Spirit. Isn’t that often the nature of wilderness experiences – we don’t always choose them?

Sometimes we do choose them, of course. When we think about it, Lent is really a season when we choose to enter into a wilderness, a time of fasting, praying, and re-examining our lives of faith. Taking a new job, going off to college, moving to a new place. These can all be chosen wilderness experiences. 

At other times we are thrown into them. An unexpected illness or surgery. The loss of a job or relationship. Or, of course, an unwelcome pandemic. 

But whether we choose them or not, we can trust that God is going to be there with us. They can deepen our lives of faith if we approach them with an openness to going through them with God. All wilderness experiences contain within them an invitation to a deeper faith. They challenge us to rely on God more.

Isn’t that what Psalm 23 teaches us? “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (the scariest wilderness of them all) I fear no evil, for you are with me.” God is with us in our wilderness, every single time.

These experiences don’t require us to deepen our faith; they invite us to. Remember the wilderness experience that God’s people faced, when they journeyed from Egypt to the promised land? God led them through that wilderness. He cared for them. He sent them daily manna. He showed them where to find water. He protected them from enemies. And, on their good days, God’s people trusted God. But on their bad days, they didn’t trust Him. They complained, or played the blame game, or tried to take matters into their own hands. 

Wilderness experiences are difficult and often unpleasant. They challenge us, and we, too, can find ourselves complaining. We, too, can be tempted to play the blame game. We, too, can want to take matters into our own hands. And when God’s people did that, there were often negative consequences for their actions, before there was forgiveness. But God didn’t give up on them, and God doesn’t give up on us, either. Wilderness experiences can open our eyes to all the miraculous ways that God is present in our lives.

And eventually, of course, they come to an end. God’s people arrived in the promised land. Although we still have COVID, the pandemic is over. After 40 days and nights, the angels came and attended on Jesus.

And so we can learn from these experiences and we can learn from Jesus. When we journey through them faithfully, we will always leave them with a renewed sense of purpose. We can see that in what comes after our Bible reading. Jesus left the wilderness, came to Galilee, and began proclaiming the Good News of God. His time in the wilderness was over and His public ministry had begun.

And the same is true for us. We leave our wilderness experiences as changed people, with our faith and our trust in God, deepened.

So, let us journey through this Lenten wilderness experience faithfully and willingly. Let us turn to the disciplines of Lent with the confidence that we are doing so in response to God’s call, and with the knowledge that we are never alone. And let us be ready to leave this wilderness with a renewed sense of purpose, ready to proclaim the Good News of the love of Jesus. 

Sunday 11 February 2024:  1 Kings 19:1-18 

Your Mission is Our Mission

The theme for this message is ‘your mission is our mission’, and this is part of our wider series on ‘making a difference where we are’.

The Bible passage features the remarkable and well-known account of Elijah from the first book of Kings where he runs for his life and he prays to God that he has had enough and just wants to end it all. So, how do we match-up ‘your mission is our mission’ with this?

Elijah had just done his best to restore right and good by wiping out hundreds of false prophets, but it all seemed to no avail when Jezebel, the terrible wife of King Ahab, issued her death threat to Elijah.

So angry was she at Elijah’s killing spree that she said, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah’s response was to run away and hide under a broom tree.

But haven’t we all been there ourselves? Haven’t there been moments in our lives when everything seemed too much, when it all got on top of us, when we seemed all alone in this world with nowhere to turn?

In those moments, maybe we went to our own hiding place? Perhaps we went to our ‘man cave’ or ‘she shed’? Or did we just retreat into our shell for a while to ride out the storm?

But what if it’s our mission that is weighing heavy on our shoulders? We might go to church, but afterwards, we will all leave and go our separate ways. What if we are the only Christian in our workplace? What if we are the only Christian in our family home? Sometimes, like Elijah, we can feel all alone in our mission. That’s where ‘your mission becomes our mission’.

Let’s look at how God treats Elijah in those circumstances. Elijah had laid down under the broom tree and had fallen asleep. He rests; he sleeps. When we think about sharing Jesus where we are, with our friends, with our families, with our community, there is something to be said about starting with rest.

Then an angel of the Lord appears and looks after Elijah. The Angel brings food and then Elijah rests again. I wonder who this angel could be? The account in the Bible is a little vague, and perhaps deliberately so. Sometimes, in our mission as a Church, we are called to support one another. So, could that angel be you or me, if one of us is burning out and needs support?

Do you have a challenging job, perhaps in caring, in health services, in teaching, in a busy office or company or something manually tiring? Are your responsibilities at home or with friends demanding? Juggling these things with mission can be difficult.

The interaction between Elijah and the Angel offers us encouragement in these circumstances. We should lean on our friends in the Church. Come and rest, eat and rest again. Be refuelled in the power of the Spirit with the support of the Body of Christ to continue faithfully in our work. Your mission is our mission. Having been strengthened by the Angel, Elijah was able to travel for forty days and nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. And there, something further happened.

When he got there, he had a powerful and yet gentle encounter with God. Elijah poured out his heart to God. He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

Elijah felt that he was all alone. He felt he was the only one doing the mission of God; the only one who was faithful, and he felt isolated. In today’s world that we live in, when we are out there in our various places doing what we do, we too can feel all alone and isolated.

But actually that isn’t the case at all. Throughout the Bible, God is revealed as a God of mission. Our God wants to show His love; to restore us and to save us. God is constantly at work and He is everywhere.

And here is a wonderful thought that I came across the other day: if we are the only Christian among other people, then we are in the majority because God is there with us.

So our mission belongs to God and He is in charge and we have the privilege of joining in with Him. It doesn’t have to be tiresome or burdensome because we can be sure in the knowledge that our work is part of God’s plan.

More than that, when feel we are on our own, we should be aware that God is actually positioning people around us. In verse 18 of our reading, God tells Elijah that He had saved seven thousand from worshipping Baal. So, Elijah wasn’t on his own after all, he was one among thousands.

And so it is with us. Even though we may sometimes feel we are alone in mission, we should remember the wider Church is still a significant body of people. And though our Church family here at Ingaway can sometimes feel small, we are united together in one purpose to serve our God. We are all on the same side.

So, let us support one another in prayer, let us uphold and encourage one another in faith. Let us fulfil our mission to tell the Good News of Jesus and let us make disciples. Your mission is our mission, and our mission is God’s mission. 

Sunday 4 February 2024: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Live intentionally

As we know, 2 Corinthians was a letter written by Paul to the Church in Corinth. We also know that Paul was dramatically changed by Jesus. Once named Saul, he persecuted Christians. He would go from house to house, dragging men and women off to prison and called for them to be stoned to death. But after an encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul was changed on the inside, at the very core. He suddenly saw the light and no longer wanted to persecute Christians but wanted to increase their number. The words Jesus spoke to Saul that day was possibly one of the most life changing conversations to have ever taken place. After his encounter Paul changed from being a sinner to being a saint.

Paul is often regarded as being the most important person after Jesus in the history of Christianity and his letters have had an enormous influence on the early Church and continues to do so today.

When Paul first visits Corinth, he joins in contributing to the community through his manual trade of tentmaking. He is being practical, he is being ordinary, he is fitting in. When you listen to his letters you get this sense that he understands that it is in weakness that God's power and love is made strong. It is not through strength, or wealth or power. He is not coming to bring news to the people of Corinth that he has confidence or abilities of his own, but that he has a total dependence on his strength through God.

At the time Paul writes to the church in Corinth, it has become larger and is beginning to become divided between those who are wealthy and those living with poverty. It is also a Church moving into a lack of church discipline, but as Paul writes this letter, he is emphasising that he is a changed man and there is a reason for this that he wants them to listen to. Paul is demonstrating to the people of Corinth that Jesus’ love pours out and changes hearts. Through this passage he is emphasising that a Christian will be a person who is compelled through the love of Jesus to persuade others of the Good News of being reconciled to God though the sacrifice of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

He says in verse 14, ‘For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.’

We are compelled by God, we are obliged to do this for God because of the love we have for Jesus. We have a choice, but it is what we want to do to please Him. We need to live intentionally for Christ. Deliberately, on purpose, in everything we do.

The fantastic news is that this is for everyone, not only the selected few but every person can become a new creation, just like a butterfly, which is completely transformed from a caterpillar. Paul, once a hater of Jesus and persecutor of ones who followed ‘The way’, was now loving Jesus and bringing the Good News of salvation through Him to everyone so that they can live in a relationship of love and acceptance to be forgiven.

Verse 17 says, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’ This is exactly what happened to Paul, and he wants to remind us that it can happen to us too. Whether you already love and believe in Christ, or whether you are seeking the truth, know this, that Jesus died for you, and when you accept Him, he will change you. You will be born again, you will become a new creation.

One night a man named Nicodemus came to talk to Jesus. As they were talking, Jesus said something to Nicodemus that he didn’t understand. He told Nicodemus that you could only see the Kingdom of God if you are born again. ‘Jesus replied, “very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”’ (John 3:3)

Nicodemus was very confused by this, and many people are still confused by this. But to help us understand we can think about how butterflies are transformed from caterpillars. God did not just stick a pair of wings onto a caterpillar to make them into butterflies, the caterpillar spins a cocoon and while inside the cocoon the caterpillar is completely transformed into a beautiful butterfly. This is similar to what happens to us when we allow Jesus into our hearts. We become changed, transformed on the inside which then shows on the outside. God does not just paint over our sin; He cleanses us and we are born again.

In what ways do you feel changed by the news that Jesus has died for you? Do you feel like a butterfly, once an ordinary caterpillar, but after Jesus moulded you and changed your very being from the inside you are now very different? Do you now stand out from the crowd as a beautiful butterfly?

Who do you most want to tell this story to? Imagine if you were a butterfly, telling the story about how you have completely changed from what you were before. You would want to shout it to everyone. Everything has changed with Jesus at the forefront of your life, you need to share it as boldly and unashamedly as Paul did.

Sunday 28 January 2024: John 6:1-15

Do what you can do

Are you a great evangelist or a great preacher? Do you have a gift of great teaching, great healing or great vision? Or is it a case of ‘if only’?

Our reading is an example of where one small act can make a huge difference, and it involves a small boy. We don’t know his name, we don’t know how old he was, we don’t know how big he was, or where his mum and dad were. We only know that his small contribution was part of a great miracle.

The disciples were learning on the job which is often the best way to get up to speed quickly, and the account starts with a challenge to Philip. Jesus asked Philip where they would buy food for all the crowds of people who were following them. Philip and the other disciples started to come up with various solutions. But there were 5,000 men. If women and children were included, the number could have been as high as 15,000.

Some of the solutions were to send them home, throw money at the problem or ask for contributions from the people. These were human solutions. The disciples didn’t think about what Jesus might be able to do. They had forgotten His numerous miracles such as turning water into wine, healing the Centurion’s servant, calming the storm, and so the list goes on. The Gospels only contain a sample of what Jesus did, but there was so much more to His ministry. And the disciples were witnesses to this work.

Then Andrew presented the boy with his five small barley loaves and two small fish, and Jesus produced the miracle. Not only were all the people fed and satisfied, but 12 baskets of food were left over!

It was a lesson for the disciples. They were looking for human solutions, but actually the solution lay in the hands of Jesus. But there was something else; the people responded to the miracle. In verse 14 the people say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, realising their intent to make Him king by force, had to withdraw to a mountain by himself. The crowd wanted a king to help them get rid of the Romans, but that wasn’t the way that Jesus worked.

This one miracle set off a chain of events where Jesus had more opportunities to teach. If we read the remainder of the chapter, we learn that His teaching was challenging; so challenging that some of His followers found the cost of discipleship so great that they left.

What lessons can we learn from all of this? Well, we need to be ready and available. As I said at the start, we know nothing about the boy and, unfortunately, we have to leave it like that. We don’t know his motives and we don’t know the nature of any conversations he had with the disciples. But what we do know is that he was ready and available. How ready and available for God’s work are we? Small contributions go a long way.

Now, we can all do the small things, and sometimes the easy things, ourselves. But we also need to ask, “Is this what God would have us do? What is God saying to us? How can we make a difference?” It could be something simple, or it could something bigger. Maybe God is calling us to care for widows and orphans, or refugees, or the homeless, or prisoners? But how are we going to know if we don’t stop and listen, and hear the voice of God?

Sometimes God wants us to move on to bigger things. The disciples had to grow and move on, and that was in the hands of Jesus. Our reading isn’t about the boy or the disciples – it is about Jesus. Whatever our contribution, it grows in the hands of Jesus; it grows in the hands of God.

In faith, we should ask God what else we can do. Expect Him to do great things through you and me. We all start off small and we grow, learn, mature and develop. I started off by doing things like putting hymns numbers on the board, but we move on and we grow, and we end up doing things which can make a big impact on peoples’ lives, perhaps even ministry. God call us. What is God calling you to do?

It is very easy to fall into spiritual laziness. God wants to use our time. He wants us to make the most of every opportunity, whether they are small or big. He will give to each one according to their ability. That one word with someone else could mean they come to faith and their life is transformed. God is at work by His Holy Spirit.

We have this idea that it is all down to us, but no. It is all down to God. He can use us. He is able to equip us through His Holy Spirit. We are able to do far more than we can imagine because His power is at work within us. The power that was at work in the New Testament is still available to us today. God knows what is ahead for us, because he has prepared it in advance. Are we ready? Whether it is providing five barley loaves and two fish, or if it is something bigger, God can multiply if we place it into His hands.

Jesus didn’t need that small boy’s contribution, but he chose to use it. And God chooses to use us. He wants us to put our lives at His disposal, and to use our contributions for His great purpose, however small or big they may be. 

Sunday 21 January 2024: John 4:1-29; 39-42

Share who you are

I am sure there are times when we have all felt that we are not quite good enough; that in some way we are inferior to others. For example, in my own circumstances, I would sometimes question whether I was good enough for the job I was doing, or I would sit quietly in a meeting not knowing whether to speak up because others seemed so much more confident and knowledgeable, and in my younger days, when I played football, there were uncomfortable times when I felt like the weakest in the team.

Maybe those feelings we experience reflect the more deep-rooted feelings of inferiority resulting from the structures and prejudices of the world we live in? Imagine how all those sub-postmasters felt when they were being wrongly accused of stealing at work. And all of us are likely to have experienced a sense of inferiority, or worse, because we have a protected characteristic such as our race, our sex or our religious belief.

In Jesus’ time, those inequalities or prejudices were even more pronounced. There was the rule of the Romans, there was the religious elite, there was a society that valued men more highly than women, and there was slavery, to name but a few.

But time and again, Jesus turned those values on their head, and our reading today serves as a prime example. Historically, the Jews had looked down on the Samaritans, and men looked down on women. And yet, at Jacob’s Well, Jesus gives dignity, value and time to a Samaritan woman which has a life-changing effect. From our reading, we are drawn-in to her sense of her inferiority, feeling not quite good enough.

Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for a drink and, in verse 9, we have her reply: “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus is crossing all sorts of boundaries and she is immediately taken aback. But they go on to have an extraordinary conversation where Jesus shows His remarkable insight which, in turn, leads her to recognise Him for who He is.

During the conversation, we discover details about her relationships which might give further cause for her to be looked down on. And yet Jesus treats her with respect. Instead of being stigmatised and treated as a ‘nobody’, Jesus treats her as a ‘somebody’ – and gradually the penny drops as to who He is. Just imagine how that made her feel, and just imagine how that would make us feel if we were treated in that same way, too.

In verses 28 and 29, we learn of the Samaritan woman’s excited response as she rushes back into town to share her experience with the people who lived there: “Come and see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could this be the Messiah?”

This whole encounter with Jesus has been life-giving for her and she can’t help but share it with others. She is not concerned about what they think, because she has found something greater. She has no script or pre-planned message; she simply speaks out from the heart, naturally and joyfully. We might wonder about her vulnerability in that moment, given what people knew of her past and the nature of what they heard her saying now, but how she is judged by others no longer matters to her. She has tasted of the life-giving water.

When we share our faith, we tell of what we know of God through the Bible and our own experience. Like the Samaritan woman, we don’t have to be perfect to do that. We just have to be ourselves.

In the final verses of our reading, from 39 to 42, we hear about the fruit of that work where many of the Samaritans from the town became believers. Just imagine the joy of the Samaritan woman when she heard those people tell her that they now knew Jesus to be the saviour of the world! Just imagine our own joy if someone we had shared our faith with said those words to us!

As we encounter Jesus, we discover who we really are. As we find our true identity in Him, we are able to be more open with others, without fear of what they might think. Although we are not perfect, we are set free by the grace of God to serve Him as disciples of Jesus without fear. If others see us as vulnerable and ordinary, then maybe those qualities will enable them to see the beauty and thirst-quenching nature of Jesus for themselves? 

Sunday 14 January 2024: Acts 3:1-10

Notice where you are led

Peter and John were going to the temple to pray at three in the afternoon which is something that was common place for them, and early Christians continued to attend Temple services for some time. They were still observing their customs and going to the temple at 3pm as was customary at that time to offer evening prayers. In Acts 2 46 we read, ‘Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts’. They had probably been doing this all their lives and it had therefore become second nature and part of their routine to do this.

We then find out in verse 2 that there was a man who had been lame from birth who was carried to the temple gate called ‘Beautiful’, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. This would have been a common occurrence for him, in the same way that going to the temple was a routine for Peter and John, this too was routine for the beggar. It seemed like an ordinary day, but on this particular day something different would happen. On this day, Peter and John would listen to God and act in accordance with His Will.  

As Peter and John passed by the beggar, he asked them for money, as he had probably asked many others before them. He did not ask to be healed, he asked for money. A very simple, earthly request, but what he got instead was far, far greater than what he could ever have imagined.

Now there are three ways that Peter and John could have responded to the beggar.

1) They could have simply ignored him as many had most likely already done.

2) The second way in which Peter and John could have responded to the beggar would have been to give him some money. This would have been a more natural response, after all that is what the beggar was asking for and hence that would have satisfied him. They could have dropped a few coins for him and been on their way to the Temple.

3) But they responded in a different way. They looked at the man, both of them. Why did they do that? They had probably not stopped and looked at him before, even though we know that they went to the Temple every day and the beggar was there every day. But this day was different. On this day something prompted both of them to look at him, together.

They said to the beggar, “Look at us”. Now that was a strange response in itself because usually people would just walk by and at best throw a few coins. Now I don’t think they were saying to the beggar, look at us and how rich we are. Look at how good we look, or look and see how generous we are. Instead, the response was to get the undivided attention from him. Look at us because you need to pay attention, something wonderful is about to happen.

The beggar on hearing their words probably thought, wow I now have their attention, I think I am going to gets lots of money from them. The reading says, ‘So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them’. But instead, what he received was far greater than what he was expecting. He expected very little, but received so much more. The ordinary was made into the extraordinary.

Peter told the beggar that he could not give him what he was asking for, but instead gave him the gift of healing through the power of Jesus. This was a most wonderful, and amazing gift. And a gift that was complete. Let’s take a moment to consider what happened.

This man had never walked before. We know this because we are told that he had been lame at birth. Imagine what your feet and legs would be like if they had never supported your body. The muscles would likely be wasted and the ligaments tight.

For people who have lost the use of their legs for a time, it takes weeks, months or years for them to learn how to walk and to build up enough strength to support their body weight, but with the power of healing through our Lord, this was overcome. Firstly, Peter took him by the hand and helped him in an earthly way, and then God allowed the strength to flow into his legs so that he could stand. Peter did what he could do and God did the rest. With God, anything and everything is possible, and this man was not only able to stand up, but he was able to walk and jump and praised God for his blessing.

Now the story would of course have been very different if Peter and John had not taken the time to notice where God had led them and acted on that prompt. It most certainly would not have made it into our Bible’s today. It would have been any other ordinary day, they went to the Temple to pray, full stop!

Church is important but it is not the ‘be all and end all’ of being a Christian. Simply coming to church every Sunday and taking part in the services is one small part of what it means to follow Jesus. We come to the Temple to pray, but we need to act to be followers of Jesus. It is out in the world where we serve the Lord. We need to listen to God and pray that God will lead us into opportunities, and we will recognise those opportunities when they come and that we will have the courage take these opportunities. We are all placed in a unique position to be disciples. For Peter and John, it was a very ordinary day, they were just going up to the temple as they did every afternoon, but instead of getting caught up with the mission they were on, they stopped and they listened to God and they took the opportunity to do God’s Will and the beggar was healed. Through them, God poured out His love on that man.

The demonstration of the power of Jesus’s name took place not within the temple walls, in the place where worship took place, the place where people went to pray. It took place outside the temple gates. God was now on the move – the Good News, although began in Jerusalem, was now starting to spread and reach out to anyone who needs it. It can reach anyone today who needs it, and we are the key to taking the message, being those disciples and acting when God prompts us.

Where has God placed you? At work, in your social circles, in a coffee club or keep fit class, visiting family or friends. Wherever we are and whoever we meet, we can make the most of opportunities to minister the Good News to others. God is at work; we just need to notice where we are being led and recognise the signs where God is reigning down and take action. 

Sunday 7 January 2024: Colossians 1:9-14

Love Where You Live

So, Christmas has come and gone and the decorations are coming down. Perhaps, already the shine has gone from those gifts that we received and were eagerly awaiting? Maybe, so much so, that we have either stopped using them or we are planning to give them away?

Could it be that the more we receive in material things, the quicker we become dissatisfied with them and the less fulfilled with feel with life itself?

That’s a bit like a packet of crisps really. It looks promising on the outside, our mouth waters as we prepare to open it, but behind that appealing packaging is a damp squib of disappointment when we find just a few thin slices of potato inside.

So, we might be forgiven for thinking our lives are full of disappointment, dissatisfaction and a lack of fulfilment. But, of course, as Christians we have an answer to that, don’t we? Our answer is that the only thing that can bring true satisfaction and fulfilment to our lives is a relationship with God. The endless search we make for fulfilment, then, might actually be a divine gift to draw us to our Heavenly Father.

But what do we do if the same thing happens to our relationship with Jesus? What do we if it is Jesus who no longer seems particularly special? What do we do when church becomes boring? What do we do when we’ve heard the Gospel so many times that it just becomes a set of meaningless words? What do we do when the problems of the world, or in our personal lives, seem so big and God seems so distant? What do we do if we become disillusioned with Jesus?

If we notice it happening at all, we might feel a little guilty and perhaps we make a half-hearted attempt to try a bit harder. But that won’t last long if Jesus doesn’t seem to be working for us any longer. The risk is that, if something else more attractive comes along, we could easily drift away.

The wonderful thing about Paul’s letter to the Colossians is that he gets right to the heart of that problem. Paul didn’t actually know any of the Colossians personally because he never went there. But maybe, from the things he had heard about all that was going on in that place, he sensed a problem. For, if we look at verse 9, which was the first line of our reading, Paul says he has not stopped praying for them and asking God to fill them.

So, could it be that Paul recognised the Colossians were looking for fulfilment, that sense of security, that sense of being complete, that sense of satisfaction that we human beings long for? But Paul doesn’t tell them off. Instead, he encourages them by confirming they are right to keep searching for something more, but he also wants them to keep looking for fulfilment in Jesus. There was no need for them to be disillusioned in Jesus.

Our Bible passage is a bit like a prayer report. Not only does Paul tell the Colossians that he is praying for them, but he tells them what he is praying about. This might indicate that he wants them to follow his example and to pray the same things for themselves.

Let’s take a closer look at the kinds of things that Paul says he is praying for:

1.      To grow in the knowledge of God, gain spiritual wisdom and understand God’s Will.

He wants the Colossian Christians to grow in the knowledge of God, gain spiritual wisdom and understand God’s Will. In these early days of Christianity, there were some real risks that people could go astray in their understanding of the Good News that Jesus brought into the world. It would be important, therefore, to avoid the errors of the heretics and to remain close to the true Word of God.

2.      To honour and please God, and bear good fruit.

That faithfulness to the true Word of God would allow the Colossians to honour and please God, and bear good fruit. The more that God’s Word settled in their hearts, the more they would know how to please Him with what they said and did, and the fruit they would bear would be good.

3.      To have great endurance and patience.

I’m sure we all know that Christians are not immune from setbacks and disappointments. So, when the Colossians came to understand God’s Word, to know His Will and bear good fruit, they would need God’s blessings of endurance to keep going in the face of adversity, and patience as they waited for others to accept the Good News. All these things that Paul was praying for would enable the Colossians to love where they lived.

4.      To give thanks always.

This last point is arguably the most important. Because, if the Colossians were searching for something more, and looking for fulfilment in Jesus, then recognising the countless blessings for which there were to be thankful, would go a long way in meeting that need. The same is true, I suggest, for us.

If we forget to be thankful for God’s blessings, then it risks us falling into disillusionment. Think about personal prayer for a moment. If things are going well for us, we are likely to say, “Thank you God, you are great!” But if things are not going well, then maybe we are tempted to think that God is not so great after all?

What, though, if we recognised that there are always things to be thankful for? Even when things are not great for us, if we look for blessings in others and search for the signs of good fruit from them, we can maintain our sense of fulfilment in Jesus. Just think about those who are around us right now. If we are feeling the slightest bit discouraged, recognising the love in those by our side, understanding the good works they do and seeing their discipleship bear fruit is genuine cause to be thankful to our Heavenly Father.

The fulfilment that we long for starts with prayer, and prayers of thanksgiving remind us how precious the fruit of the Gospel is – whether it is in ourselves or in the witness of those around us.

If any of that disillusionment is about the place where we live – and let’s be honest, there are many causes for concern around and about us – then we risk our service and witness becoming meaningless and fruitless. But because we have Jesus, there is always hope for His message to penetrate the hardest of hearts in our neighbourhoods, and we can be the example that inspires positive change.

Most of you will know that we have a Mission and Vision for our Church. Its headline statement is to share the Good News of the love of Jesus. And if we love where we live, we will go a long way to fulfilling our Mission and Vision.

And I’m going to suggest that we can look at the theme title of our service today – ‘love where you live’ – in two different ways. By recognising all those things to be thankful for, we can indeed enjoy, and take pleasure from, the place where we live.

But we can also remember the new commandment that Jesus gave us in John 13:34-35 which is to: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” In the same way, we should love one another where we live.

Love. Where we live.