30th May 2021 - Shaped with Suffering

30th May 2021   “Shaped by suffering into the likeness of Christ.”
 
Part 1
Welcome, Introduction and Call to Worship            Michael
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  It’s fantastic to be able to join together in church to worship together and we hope that soon those of you who are listening online will soon be able to join us again as normal.  Last week we thought about how the Holy Spirit helps us to produce spiritual fruit in our lives so that we can reflect the image of God more clearly.  Today we are going to consider the difficult truth that mysteriously, even suffering has a part to play in shaping us into the image of Christ.  But to begin, as always, we are going to talk to God.  So let’s pray…
 
Opening Prayer + Lord’s Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you that you are always with us, in the bad times as well as the good, the difficult as well as the easy, the sad as well as the happy.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
We thank you that though we have sometimes been unsure of the way ahead, you have always been there to guide us, though we have felt discouraged, you have offered us fresh inspiration, though we have been in despair, you have given us hope.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
We thank you for the assurance this brings us that your steadfast love never ceases, that your mercies are new every morning, that great is your faithfulness.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
May that conviction give us confidence in the days ahead, so that whatever problems we face, whatever disappointments we experience, whatever sorrows may befall us, we will still find reason to look forward, reason to believe in the future and reason to hope.
Lord of all hopefulness, hear our prayer.
Join with me as we share the words of the Lord’s Prayer together.  And so we pray…
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name,
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us,
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever, AMEN.
 
 
Introduce the Opening Song
 
It seems so long since we were privileged to take the RTE service on Palm Sunday.  One of the songs our choir sang that day is a beautiful traditional hymn reminding us that no matter what happens nothing can separate us from the love of God.  So sit back and reminisce as our RTE choir sings the song, “It is well with my soul.”
 
(End Part 1)
 
Opening Song     ‘It is well with my soul’
 
Part 2
Announcements
A big congratulations to all those of you who have finished your exams and we want to say a very special congratulations to Amy Whelton and to Liezel Ravenscroft who have both completed their degree courses this year.  Amy is still waiting on her results but Liezel has qualified as a medical doctor.  Well done to both of these two young women. I’m sure their parents are both very proud and relieved.  Now we come to the part of the service that’s especially for our younger members, so if your kids aren’t beside you why not call them I to watch a very interesting video on the question “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”
(End Part 2)
 
Kid’s Video          Why does God let bad things happen?  (J.John)
 
LINK           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-vp9vpUmFo
 
 
Part 3
 
Boys and girls I found that video really helpful and I hope you did too.
I don’t have all the answers to why every bad thing that happens but I do know that God loves us and that often bad things happen because people make bad choices.  I also know that God wants to comfort and help us when we are hurting and I know that one day in the future we will go to live with God in heaven where there will be no more pain or suffering or bad things.
 
If you’ve got any other questions you’d like to know about God then just let me know and we will try to discuss them some other Sunday mornings.  Don’t forget to ask your mum or dad to download the colouring sheet from our Facebook Page to help you remember today’s lesson.  I hope you have a great week as you enjoy your summer and I hope to see you again soon.  But bye for now.
 
Kid’s Colouring
https://www.printablee.com/post_god-loves-me-printable_316808/
 
Introduction to Bible Reading
 
In our bible reading today St Paul tells us that somehow God works all things even our sufferings to help mould us into the image of His Son Jesus Christ.  It will be read for us now by Emma.
 
(End Part 3)
 
Video of Bible Reading         Romans 8 v 28 – 39              Emma
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
Part 4
Introduction to Reflection
Thank you Emma for reading that mysterious but very encouraging passage for us so well.
 
Reflection           “Shaped by Suffering into the likeness of Christ”
Normally, I use two methods for deciding what to preach on.  At times I will use the Christian calendar like Advent or Easter and preach through the readings that are provided in the common lectionary.  At other times, I choose a book of the bible and teach consecutively through several chapters.  But over the last month I’ve taken a more thematic approach.  In particular, I have been reflecting on the whole idea that we are made in the image of God.  Two weeks ago we reflected on what that means and how if we are to find real happiness and contentment in life, it’s best for us to try and see our primary identity in Christ and to know that we are loved by God no matter what.  Last week, we reflected on how the Holy Spirit helps us produce spiritual fruit so that the image of God might be reflected more clearly in our lives.
As I was walking the dog this week, I was thinking about all of you and reflecting on how many of you are finding life really difficult at the moment in so many ways.  There are people in our congregation who are battling with cancer.  There are people who are living with the uncertainty of ongoing tests in hospital.  There are people who are struggling with old age.  There are people who are struggling with all the complexities of being a teenager.  There are young adults feeling that University life is passing them by because of lockdown and worried about important exam results.  There are people who have been diagnosed with chronic illnesses that are not easily treated and that make life so unpredictable.  There are people who are grieving the loss of someone special and people who through no fault of their own have to battle the difficulties of depression.  There are people who have been praying about something for a long time now and it feels as if God is on mute!  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  We are all so wonderfully different, but there’s one thing we all have in common - all of us know what it’s like to suffer.
As I thought about these things, I started asking God- “Lord, what on earth can I say to your people this Sunday that will give them some sort of encouragement in the midst of all that is currently painful and confusing in their lives?”  As I listened, a very well-known passage of scripture came into my mind.  It can be found in Paul’s letter to the Romans Chapter 8 v 28-30.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
As those words rotated in my mind I realised that hidden within these few verses there was another lesson about how the image of God is gradually formed in our lives.  You see, ultimately that is what God’s number one purpose for our lives is.  As much as God loves us, as much as He is for us and not against us, as much as He wants to enjoy our lives, above all things, like a master carpenter God wants to take us and shape us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.
That means that God’s primary concern is not whether we are rich or successful, glamourous or popular.  His ultimate goal is to restore the damaged mirror of our lives so that one day we will reflect the image of His Son without any distortion.
How does God do that?  To put it simply, He uses ‘all things’.  That’s what Paul says here in these verses – “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
Here Paul is saying that somehow, in every experience of life, God is there for us and wants to enable us to allow everything that happens to us, good and bad, to mold us and shape us to become more like Christ.
Now before we explore this idea a little further, I want to make very clear that what I am not saying is that God is to blame for everything.  When a baby dies in child birth that is not because God wanted it to happen.  When my child is diagnosed with diabetes that is not because God willed it. 
In the game of life, if I can reverently call it that, at any given moment, there are many interacting pieces.  There are lots of people, all of whom have the freedom to make choices for good or bad.  There is the enemy of God, the devil, unseen, but working behind the scenes to spoil all the good that God wants for our lives.  There are all the consequences of what it means to live in a broken world including disease and natural disaster.  There is us and everything we do and say, including the conversations that we have with God.  All of these things have an impact on situations and circumstances.  And then there is God, who of course could step in at any moment and end the game or change the rules, but who more often allows the game to continue so that we can experience much fun and freedom.  It’s not that God is not Sovereign, it’s just that I believe that the way in which He reigns still allows for freedom and choices and the battles between good and evil.
So because life, both in what we can see and in what is unseen, involves so many interacting influences, in any given event of suffering there are no easy answers as to what or why exactly something has happened.  What is certain is that all suffering causes untold pain and distress.  So we have to tread carefully when we attempt to speak about these things.  Often when people are suffering it is best to say nothing and just to listen and be there for them as they journey.
So what I want to say here this morning, I want to say tentatively and hopefully sensitively.  And it’s this – Whatever interactions are going on amidst the game of life which has resulted in something that is currently causing you and your loved ones deep distress, know that God sees and God cares. 
When you look back on the shoreline of suffering and see only one set of footprints in the sand it’s natural to feel that God has abandoned you.  But the truth that we must try and hold on to is that in those moments God has been carrying us!  Whatever you’re going through, however confusing it seems, I want to encourage you this morning to allow God to carry you.  Know that He hears your cries of anguish even when you don’t even know what to say.
But I also want you to realize that through ‘all things,’ if we will trust Him, God can somehow use every experience of life however happy or bitter to somehow shape us into the likeness of Christ. 
I was speaking to someone recently who spent some time in hospital.  It was a very difficult time away from their family and friends.  They were in pain and undergoing many tests.  Their mind was full of uncertainty.  But as they looked around them, as they listened to the cries of the people around them at night in the ward, they began to ask, “Lord what would you like me to do?”  So over a period of a few days they began to move around the ward introducing themselves to people and listening sensitively to the experiences of others.  Since returning home and now living with a chronic condition, they have realized that they now have an empathy with other people in a way that they never had before, the empathy of Christ.  So despite all that is difficult and painful about their experience, in the mystery of God, it has also enabled them to become more like their master.
You know, when silver is being purified it must be held in a hot flame until all the impurities are burned away.  If it is held in the flame for even a fraction too long it will be destroyed.  When a silversmith was asked, “how do you know when to remove the silver from the flame”, she replied, “When I can see my reflection.”
So often, it’s the times in life when we feel the burn, that the character of Jesus will be reflected and formed most brightly in our lives. 
Again, I don’t want to sound trite this morning.  I don’t want to make light of your suffering.  But I do believe what Paul is saying here is that somehow in the mystery of it all, God can enable us to become more like His Son in our attitudes, actions and in our care for our fellow human beings because of the sufferings that we ourselves experience.  If we allow it, as much as we may not be able to explain it, God can shape us through our sufferings to make us more like Jesus.
So let me encourage you this morning not to give up hope, not even to try and understand, but to trust that God knows and cares and has a long-term game plan to make you and your loved ones more like Jesus, even through ‘all things’.  Whatever sorrows and unanswered questions we will take to the grave, it is deeply strengthening to know that ultimately, He has promised that one day He will transform the entire universe and restore it to its former glory.  And on that day He will invite us to share in that future new heaven and earth where there will be no more sickness, suffering, sorrow or death.
God has begun this work in our world and even within us.  He will never walk away from that and will bring what he has started to completion.
So my sincerest prayer for each of us here this morning is that God will help each one of us to allow our sufferings to shape us into the image of His Son.
 
Intro to You-tube Song         Michael
We are going to respond to what we’ve been reflecting on now as we listen to a beautiful song “Blessings” by Laura Story.  So sit back and allow the words of this poem and this song to draw your thoughts and hearts to God…
(End Part 4)
 
You Tube Song             “Blessings”          Laura Story
LINK            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQan9L3yXjc
Part 5
What a beautiful song and what amazing words.  Let’s pray…
 
Prayers for ourselves and others
Loving God, we bring before you the sick and suffering of our world, all those wrestling with illness in body, mind or spirit. 
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those afflicted in body – enduring physical pain, overwhelmed by disabling disease, waiting for an operation or further treatment and fearful of what the future might hold, or living with the knowledge of terminal illness.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those disturbed or troubled in mind – those whose confidence has broken down, those unable to cope with the pressures of daily life, those oppressed by false terrors of the imagination, those facing the dark despair of clinical depression.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those afflicted in spirit – those who feel their lives to be empty, or whose beliefs are threatened or who have lost their faith, or who worship gods of their own making with no power to satisfy, or whose hearts have become bitter and twisted, and their minds dark.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Living God we thank you for all who work to bring help, wholeness and healing to the sick – doctors and nurses, surgeons and medical staff, psychiatrists, counselors, clergy and therapists.  Support and strengthen all who share in the world of healing, all who strive to bring relief, all who minister to others.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Grant them your wisdom and guidance, your care and compassion, your strength and support.  Equip them in all they do and bring wholeness through them.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Finally we pray for your church in the healing ministry you have called it to exercise, an inner healing of body mind and soul which only you can offer.  Grant that your people everywhere may be so filled with your Holy Spirit, and so touched by the grace of Christ, that they may share effectively in the wider work of healing, through their life and witness bringing wholeness to broken people and a broken world.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Give thanks for the ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Pray for those who have been injured, those who are grieving, those who are living in fear due to the recent attacks and unrest. Pray for those trying to bring immediate and long-term peace, justice and a fair society for all in the Holy Land.
Bethlehem Bible College & Nazareth Evangelical College
Pray for staff and students at these colleges, especially for the students sitting exams and those seeking to complete their studies amidst disruption and insecurity.   
Take a moment now to bring your own prayers to God…
All these prayers we offer in the name of Christ who is the great physician, Amen.
 
Closing Words/Announcements
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today.  Thank you for coming and for all your encouragement.  I hope you found today helpful.
 
The Dublin and Munster Education Fund are now accepting applications from our church members seeking funding for secondary and post-secondary education expenses. Completed applications must be submitted online by 31 August 2021. 
If you are interested you may request an application by sending an email to [email protected]
If you would like to book a place at church next Sunday please do text Aleida before Friday evening of this week. 
 
If you would like to help with readings, prayers or music and have somehow escaped my attention please don’t be afraid to say to me.
 
There will be no midweek online service during the month of June.  Instead I hope to use the time I would normally spend in preparation and recording making pastoral calls now that restrictions are a little more relaxed and now that lots of people including myself have been vaccinated.
 
But to close, let me share with a benediction after which I invite you to say the grace together…
 
Benediction       
 
As you go out from here, whatever suffering you are experiencing may you know that somehow it will not be in vain, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  And
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”